Vol. 510 No. 4
39 Mr. O'Shea asked the Minister for Finance if he is committed to maintain the spending targets set out in the 1999 stability programme published on budget day in 1998; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22688/99]
The expenditure projections which were included in the Stability Programme 1999-2001 published with the 1999 budget were based on adherence to the commitment in the Government's An Action Programme for the Millennium to limit the growth in net current expenditure to a 4 per cent annual average increase. Net current expenditure comprises net current supply services and central fund services.
I am determined to ensure that this commitment is met. In its recently published review of its An Action Programme for the Millennium, the Government has confirmed that the 4 per cent limit on net current expenditure will continue to apply.
The Stability Programme 1999-2000 also indicated that capital expenditure would increase by 30 per cent in 1999 and that it will increase further in subsequent years. These figures related to the increase in gross capital expenditure. On the basis of end-September figures, the corresponding gross capital expenditure outturn figure for 1999 was forecast at just over 39 per cent. The Estimates for 2000 will be published tomorrow and will show the latest forecast for voted capital expenditure in 1999.
