The Taoiseach has warned the Health Service Executive that the Government will not accept any excuses on overspending in the health service amid reports it is facing a €300 million yearly deficit.
Leo Varadkar said funding had increased by more than a €1 billion over the past two years to bring spending on health to its highest level in the history of the State.
He said Ireland was the fifth biggest spender on health in the western world and in return people are entitled to the fifth best health service in the world.
Mr Varadkar also said he is "very happy" with the European Commission's paper on Brexit published today.
The paper detailed how the European Commission believes Britain should deal with Irish issues in the Brexit negotiations.
Negotiators in Brussels warned in a four-page document that the critical issue for the island of Ireland was more than just a customs problem.
They said they were not offering solutions on how cross-border trade and travel will be protected on the island of Ireland and the onus was on the UK to come up with ideas to avoid a hard border, including checkpoints.
Mr Varadkar said the Government wants Britain to stay within the Customs Union - or something very similar to it - for a transitional period after leaving the EU.
On the issue of water charges, Mr Varadkar said charges would only be levied on households that waste water or those that will not repair leaking pipes.
Yesterday, Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government Eoghan Murphy said that if legislation is enacted by the middle of October, householders who paid their water charges should get a refund by the end of the year.
He also confirmed that those who use excessive amounts of water will start paying levies in July 2019, but will get a warning six months in advance to modify their usage in order to avoid charges.
Today, Mr Varadkar said homes' water use would be monitored next year and then people would get six months' notice to repair pipes.
