Departmental Expenditure

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 3 October 2012

Wednesday, 3 October 2012

Questions (25)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

25. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Arts; Heritage and the Gaeltacht if he is in a position to meet in full the budgetary requirements of his Department in this coming year, with particular reference to the development and promotion of the national heritage and the arts as a means of the generation of economic confidence and recovery; if he will outline his primary objectives in this regard in the coming year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41980/12]

Written answers

Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht

My Department’s gross allocation to deliver its wide range of programmes and measures in 2012 is €268.451m. For the Deputy’s information, on 30 September 2012, my Department’s gross expenditure totalled some €186m. This represented approximately 96% of the published profile and 69% of the REV allocation. I expect expenditure to remain on profile and that my allocation will be fully drawn down.

I will continue to monitor closely expenditure trends across all my Department’s subheads in the lead up to year-end and, if required and in line with Public Financial Procedures, may, under the specific authority of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, vire any savings which may emerge within certain subheads to meet pressures on other subheads. As the Deputy will appreciate, the financial allocations for my Department for 2013 will be decided in the context of the Estimates for next year.