asked the Minister for Finance the responses he has had to the publication last year of comprehensive public expenditure programmes; when he proposes to publish a more complete version; and if he will issue the 1984 budget figures in this format.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Public Expenditure Programmes.
3.
The pilot publication of comprehensive public expenditure programmes received a very favourable reaction from interests as varied as employer and farming organisations, management consultants, independent research bodies, and public sector bodies. Useful comments were received from these sources, which my Department will draw on in developing the programme approach. Work is at present under way in my Department aimed at publishing before the summer recess a document which will extend the programme approach to a wider range of public expenditure than was covered in last year's publication. It is proposed to present expenditure data for both 1983 and 1984 in this document. I cannot give the Deputy the date of publication. It is contingent on work pressures in my own and in other Government Departments preparing the data.
I should like to compliment the Minister on the production of this comprehensive public expenditure programme which has added tremendously to the analysis of public expenditure here. Is the Minister telling the House that the Department are getting word back that this has been a success and that he will move as quickly as possible to present the budgetary figures, mainly the expenditure figures, programme by programme as opposed to the existing method? It is a valuable document and the sooner the House has it the better so that we can analyse public spending programme by programme and decide the programmes that are useful.
I can confirm what the Deputy has said. This year we will be in a position to cover about 40 programmes. That will leave some few programmes not covered by the comprehensive presentation. If I can find a way of covering them all I will do so this year, but I could not guarantee the Deputy that we will have them all covered this year.
How many programmes are there?
There are 45.
And it is hoped to cover 40 in the document?
Yes.
When is it hoped to publish the document?
Before the summer recess.
In line with that, will the Government do this year what they promised but failed to do last year, publish the Estimates for public expenditure for next year in adequate time to allow the House examine them? The Estimates are the whole basis of Government policy and I should like to ask the Minister if he will endeavour to ensure that they will be published in September this year. Last year we were promised that they would be published in September but they were not published until Christmas Day, or two days before it. Will the Minister ensure that they are published in time this year so that we can have a broad consensus on the priorities?
That is a separate question.
It is a related question and the Minister knows that. Obviously, we will not see the Estimates in time.
If the Deputy wishes to jump to conclusions it will be well in keeping with his procedure up to now.
I was going on the basis of what happened last year.