I propose to take Questions Nos. 81 and 87 together.
The total gross allocation to my Department’s Vote as per the 2017 Revised Estimates Volume amounts to €858.4 million broken down between Capital funding of €555 million and Current funding of €303.4 million. This allocation is distributed across 39 different subheads which is reflective of the diversity of my Department’s functions.
Capital funding is primarily in the form of enterprise and innovation grants awards provided through Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland, Science Foundation Ireland, the 31 Local Enterprise Offices, InterTrade Ireland, Tyndall National Institute, the Programme for Research in Third-Level Institutions and the Interreg programme. It also covers some funding to support the National Standards Authority of Ireland, the Credit Guarantee Scheme and payment of Ireland’s membership and participation in various International Research Organisations such as the European Space Agency.
Current funding covers the Pay, Non-Pay and Pensions costs associated with the Department, its Offices and Agencies. It also covers Ireland’s annual membership subscriptions to certain international organisations such as the Wold Trade Organisation, the International Labour Organisation and the World Intellectual Property Organisation.
Gross expenditure to the end of June 2017 across my Department’s Vote amounted to €333.960 million. This compares to an estimated profiled expenditure amount undertaken through an extensive exercise at the beginning of 2017 of €360.44 million. The gross expenditure to the end of June therefore represents a 7% variance behind expenditure profile. The following table outlines the respective variances between the different elements of Current expenditure and also Capital expenditure versus the initial profile.
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|
Total Allocation as per 2017 REV
|
Expenditure to the end of June 2017
|
Original profiled spend estimate for end June 2017
|
Variance
|
% Variance
|
Pay
|
€153.53m
|
€69.61m
|
€72.08m
|
-€2.46m
|
-3%
|
Pensions
|
€ 49.37m
|
€24.43m
|
€24.55m
|
-€0.12m
|
0%
|
Non-Pay
|
€100.50m
|
€41.88m
|
€45.29m
|
-€3.40m
|
-8%
|
Capital
|
€555.00m
|
€198.03m
|
€218.51m
|
-€20.48m
|
-9%
|
My Department keeps expenditure trends under constant review and provides expenditure details on a monthly basis to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. Such information feeds into the Expenditure Reports that are published with the monthly Exchequer Statement.
It is difficult to assess the full year expenditure on my Department’s Vote at this early stage. As the year progresses my Department will continue to manage expenditure within the allocations agreed by the Dáil in the 2017 Estimates in order to deliver on my Department’s agreed objectives.