Cork North Central TD Billy Kelleher said he understands that some hospitals are under such intense cash-flow problems that their credit rating has been damaged.
“I am aware of one Cork hospital that is buying bread with cash because it can’t get credit,” he said.
A lobby group for small and medium businesses, ISME, also previously said that the HSE was amongst the worst offenders for paying for goods on time. Mr Kelleher today declined to name the Cork hospital but he added: “I believe the purchase of food supplies is being done on a cash basis by a number of hospitals.”
He blamed the mess on the failure of Minister for Health James Reilly to adequately budget for the health service.
A spokesman for the HSE said he was unaware of any such cash flow difficulties at hospitals within the Cork University Hospital Group.
Chief executive of the South Infirmary Victoria University Hospital Gerard O’Callaghan said: “It is absolutely not true to say that this hospital has been forced to go cash-in-hand to buy bread because it couldn’t get credit.
“We will always purchase our supplies from those suppliers who can provide the best value.”