Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 12 Apr 2000

Vol. 518 No. 1

Written Answers. - Departmental Estimates.

Nora Owen

Question:

20 Mrs. Owen asked the Taoiseach the reason for the changes in his Department's 1999 expenditure and 2000 Estimates as detailed in the 2000 Revised Estimates for Public Services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8774/00]

The Taoiseach

The Revised Estimates for Public Services, which were published on 22 March set out the provisional outturn for 1999 expenditure and the estimate for 2000 expenditure for my Department.

The provisional outturn of £19.8 million for 1999 shows that my Department was well within its overall budget for the year, with savings on a number of subheads. In the cases of millennium celebrations and the Moriarty tribunal, some expenditure was deferred to this year.

With regard to the millennium, expenditure in 1999 was lower than was originally anticipated, mainly because there is a significant capital element involved. There is a longer lead time on capital projects and the millennium office ensures that grants are not made until satisfactory progress has been made on such projects.

With regard to the Moriarty tribunal, the ongoing work of the tribunal has meant that the bulk of the legal costs, which will arise following completion of that work, have not yet arisen.

The Revised Estimate for 2000 for my Department is £85.294 million. This is an increase of £48.908 million on the abridged Estimate, which was published last November. The increase arises for the following reasons: the administrative budget has increased to reflect the carry-forward of savings which my Department made in 1999; subheads which include a pay component have been adjusted to take account of the increases agreed in the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness; the allocation for grants under the Irish Sailors and Soldiers Land Trust Act, 1988, has been increased by £150,000 – the additional allocation represents expenditure deferred from 1999; the allocation for commemoration initiatives has increased by £70,000, to reflect an additional allocation made by the Minister for Finance in the context of the budget; the allocation for the millennium celebrations has been increased to £23.2 million – this represents the balance of the £30 million allocation made by the Government to cover the years 1999 and 2000; £300,000 has been allocated to a new subhead which will cover the administration and other costs of the independent commission of inquiry being undertaken by former Chief Justice Hamilton into the bombings in Dublin, Monaghan and Dundalk; £31 million has been allocated for multi-media developments, including the development of a new research and development institution, Media Lab Europe, and a multi-media village in Dublin; and £10 million has been allocated for the initial development costs of Sports Campus Ireland.