Two consultancy reports which looked at how savings could be made in the medical card scheme cost the taxpayer nearly €200,000, new figures show.

Queries were subsequently raised about using the findings of these reports as a basis for culling significant numbers of medical cards.

The consultancy spend on medical card reviews was part of €7.5 million spent by the HSE in 2012 on outside consultancies. Many of the payouts involved substantial six figure sums.

Figures released under FOI show that Accenture consultants were paid €158,055 in 2012 to conduct a review of medical card scheme spending.

In addition, PriceWaterhouse Coopers (PwC) were paid €35,670 in the same year to review expenditure on the medical card scheme.

The PwC report suggested that savings of between €65 million and €210 million in savings could be made by culling medical card holders deemed to be ineligible from the scheme.

The report's findings were used by Health Minister James Reilly to draw up a plan in last October's Budget to make savings of €113 million by cutting back on medical cards. Subsequently, this 'probity' cuts target was reduced to €23 million.

The projections in the PwC report were questioned by both the HSE and the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG), and the report itself included a disclaimer that the projected figures were indicative only and could not be relied on for any purpose other than providing a broad understanding of the potential for medical card cuts.

The C&AG, in a report last year, said the PwC assessment was limited in scope, as it was conducted on the basis of a review of reports rather than a detailed analysis of the database and expenditure on medical cards. It noted that the report concluded that a more reliable estimate would involve a more detailed review of the medical card database.

The HSE subsequently in 2012 employed Accenture to conduct a more detailed review of medical card spending, to identify cost-drivers, risk areas and associated controls. However, according to the C&AG report, 'the review did not develop a baseline estimate of excess expenditure under the medical card scheme'.

Around 75,000 people stand to lose full medical cards this year under the HSE's service plan for 2014.

Figures on consultancy expenditure by the HSE in 2012 (the last full year for which figures are available), released under FOI, show that in addition to being paid for its medical card review, PwC was paid just under €350,000 for 'development and delivery of Supportstat (a HSE performance measurement tool)' and for tax advice to the health executive.

Other significant payments on consultancies in 2012 included:

* €2.6 million to IBM Ireland for 'ICT PPARS (staff payroll system) support'.

* €526,000 to Powerhealth Solutions for a patient costing study.

* €113,000 to the College of Anaesthetists for developing a strategy for anaesthesia services in Ireland.

* €202,600 to Compupac IT solutions for IT work.

* €230,600 to KPMG for a fraud investigation and tax consultancy work.

* €194,000 to Mazars for IT audits.

* €282,000 to Mercer Ireland for pension consultancy work.

* €206,000 to PA Consulting for work on HSE finance reform and a review of orthodontic/oral surgery services.

* €136,000 to the Royal College of Physicians for advice on acute medicine services and a radiology project.

The HSE spent a total of €8.2 million on outside consultancy services in 2011.