Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 30 July 2020
388. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his views on the reason the recent Estimates have not contained updated performance indicators relating to new expenditure allocations; if this will impede the work of the central expenditure policy and reporting division; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20497/20]
View answer389. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his plans for effective oversight of July stimulus funding in view of the absence of performance indicators attached to recent Estimates; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20498/20]
View answer390. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his plans to establish oversight and conditionality measures to ensure well managed and effective expenditure of the July stimulus funding; if this will include stakeholder oversight groups at sectorial levels with involved of trade unions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20499/20]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 388 to 390, inclusive, together.
The Revised Estimates (REV) 2020 published in December 2019 set out an overall allocation of €70.4 billion in gross voted expenditure for the year. Taking into account the additional expenditure agreed by the Dáil in relation to Covid-19 measures, the revised Government Expenditure Ceiling now stands at €79.7 billion. This includes an additional €6.8 billion for the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection, nearly €2 billion for the Department of Health and €483 million for the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation.
Further to this, a number of additional measures have been announced by Government in response to the Covid-19 crisis. At the end of June, additional Covid-19 related expenditure was estimated at approximately €12 billion. This included the decision to extend the Pandemic Unemployment Payment and the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme beyond the original end date of the schemes to August. Taking this into account, as well as the substantial package of measures included in the July Stimulus Plan and also taking into account further spending that may be required as the year progresses to support key sectors, including Education for the reopening of schools and for further and higher education, it is now estimated that the additional expenditure relating to Covid-19 in 2020 will be approximately €16.2 billion.
At this time, a number of reconfigurations of Government Departments are in progress. When work in relation to all transfers of functions and related allocations is complete, restated Estimates will be presented to the Dáil reflecting the new Departmental structures and their associated expenditure allocations. These restated Estimates will reflect decisions in relation to additional funding to respond to Covid-19, including for those measures set out in the July stimulus.
Managing expenditure within allocations is, as always, a key responsibility of every Department and Minister. As outlined above, in the last number of months, significant additional expenditure has been allocated to a number of Departments to support our citizens and our health service at this time of crisis. While we find ourselves in an unprecedented situation with regard to Covid-19, all of the usual measures remain in place in relation to the sanctioning and management of expenditure with regular reporting on spending by Departments. This applies to all voted expenditure, including that set out in the July stimulus plan.
Looking at the Department of Health, a key Department in the response to Covid-19, a number of processes have been put in place or adapted in order to facilitate timely and appropriate allocation of additional resources in a streamlined manner. In the context of the prevalence of time-sensitive requests for procurement expenditure on items such as PPE, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform agreed a streamlined sanction process with the Department of Health, in which expenditure items falling under the Covid-19 National Action Plan would be dealt with as a matter of urgency within the usual sanctioning processes.
Health Budget Oversight Group meetings are an oversight forum attended by senior officials in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, the Department of Health and the HSE. In normal times these serve as an early warning mechanism to alert the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform of potential spend overruns and related issues. Previously held on a monthly basis, in the context of Covid-19 the Group now meets remotely on a weekly basis and its meetings consider COVID-19 related expenditure in detail.
The Health Service Executive reports to the Department of Health on Covid-19 related expenditure, with this expenditure then subsequently being reviewed by the Health Budget Oversight Group, which is chaired by an official in my Department.
In relation to the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection, which has been allocated substantial additional resources in response to Covid-19, new specific subheads were created for the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) and the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS). This means that there is transparency around where this funding has been allocated and how it is being spent. Regular reporting is in place with detailed analysis of payment data published on a regular basis by the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection and the Revenue Commissioners in regard to the PUP and the TWSS, respectively. The most recent update for the PUP can be found here: https://www.gov.ie/en/press-release/2ea1e-update-on-payments-awarded-for-covid-19-pandemic-unemployment-payment-and-enhanced-illness-benefit/. The most recent update for the TWSS can be found here: https://www.revenue.ie/en/corporate/information-about-revenue/statistics/number-of-taxpayers-and-returns/covid-19-wage-subsidy-scheme-statistics.aspx
Turning to performance indicators, the need for Departments to provide an immediate response to the Covid-19 crisis will have impacted on outputs in certain areas as resources were directed to respond to Covid-19. The Public Service Performance Report for 2019 was published this month. Work on the next iteration of this report will involve consideration of how to outline the impact of Covid-19 in terms of performance. The Revised Estimates Volume for 2021, due to be published in December, will also require consideration of how to deal with the impact of Covid-19 on Departmental performance and on performance indicators.
The aim of the Performance Budgeting initiative is to facilitate meaningful dialogue and engagement around how public funds are allocated and used. There are other elements of the whole-of-year budget process which aim to do this, including the National Economic Dialogue (NED). The role of the NED is to foster discussion on how to optimise available resources in the interests of all citizens, taking into account the many competing economic and social priorities within the limited available resources. This becomes ever more important in these unprecedented times. While this year’s NED has been postponed in light of the COVID-19 outbreak and the necessary containment measures introduced to address it, providing stakeholders with a forum to discuss and promote debate on key issues, reflecting on national and sectoral developments remains an important element of the budgetary process. As outlined in the Programme for Government, the Government recognises the importance of regular and open engagement with all sectors of society and that this is particularly important as we steer our way out of the pandemic, rebuild our economy and support communities that have been severely impacted by COVID-19. In particular the Programme for Government outlines that Government will:
- Establish a unit in the Department of Taoiseach to coordinate social dialogue.
- Utilise public consultations, citizens’ assemblies and strengthen current mechanisms such as the National Economic Dialogue and the Labour Employer Economic Forum (LEEF).
- Ensure in all our engagements that the role of the Oireachtas and Government in policy formation is fully respected.
