Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 21 April 2021
115. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the gross expenditure provided for in the budget for 2021; if this will be sufficient to cover the now projected voted expenditure for 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18893/21]
View answerBudget 2021 provided for an overall expenditure ceiling of €87.8 billion this year. As set out in the Revised Estimates for Public Services (REV) 2021, nearly €82.4 billion of this has been allocated at a departmental level. €75¾ billion of this has been allocated to core expenditure programmes with €6½ billion allocated to Departments for measures related to Covid-19.
Outside of the allocation provided for in the REV 2021, €5.4 billion has been set aside in reserve to ensure Government has the flexibility to respond to the evolving situation with the virus during the year. This reserve will partially be utilised to fund the extension of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) and Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) to the end of June. In addition, taking into account that expenditure on the PUP to the end of March is already €1.2 billion ahead of the amount allocated in REV 2021, the additional expenditure on the PUP and EWSS to the end of June will place a significant demand on the €5.4 billion of Contingency Funds set aside as part of Budget 2021.
Consequently, in the context of the Government's commitment that there would be no cliff-edge to these supports at the end of June, policy decisions in relation to the period after June would most likely require an increase in the overall expenditure amount for 2021.
