I propose to take Questions Nos. 14, 23 and 28 together.
With the move to Performance Budgeting in 2012, the layout of the Estimates has changed. All expenditure is now grouped under Departmental programmes which combine administrative and direct expenditure attributable to each area of activity. The Estimates for 2013 published on 5 December last in respect of my Department show an overall reduction of some €4.1 million for Vote 28 (Foreign Affairs and Trade) compared with the allocation for 2012.
In preparing the budget, every effort was made to protect direct expenditure in areas such as Promoting Ireland’s Economic and Trade Interests in Europe and Internationally; Consular, Passport and Irish Abroad Services and Reconciliation and Cooperation on This Island.
The particular adjustments raised in the Deputies’ questions are the result of an updated estimate of the administrative costs attributable to each programme. The direct programme expenditure allocations remain unchanged. Changes in administrative spending allocations also take account of the additional provisions made for the exceptional once-off costs associated with the EU Presidency.
The Revised Estimates Volume, which will be published in a few weeks, will provide more detailed information on all expenditure.That volume will take account of the 2012 out-turn and will also include a number of adjustments, often technical, that are made as part of the budgetary process.