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Tue 07 Jul 2007Holding the purse stringsThere is renewed criticism over hospital funding as once again budget overruns provoke threats of cutbacks, writes Theresa Judge.Minister for Health Mary Harney's statement last week that she would be discussing as "a matter of urgency" budget overruns with HSE chief executive Brendan Drumm has prompted renewed criticism of the system used for funding our major hospitals and heightened concerns over planned cutbacks.