Committee on Budgetary Oversight publishes Post-Budget 2022 Report

Launching the report, Deputy Neasa Hourigan, Cathaoirleach of the Committee, said: “This is the first time the Committee on Budgetary Oversight has published a post-Budget report. The Committee committed to doing so in its Final Report on the Framework for Parliamentary Engagement and to send the report to the Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach.

“In undertaking this report, the Committee re-examined its recommendations from its Interim and Final Pre-Budget Reports. We also examined the Budget publications along with commentary from the ESRI, the Fiscal Council and the Parliamentary Budget Office.

“The Committee has made a number of observations and recommendations around issues that could have an impact on Budget 2022 as well as improvements for future Budgets. We have also made a number of comments on the recommendations set out in our Interim and Final Pre-Budget 2022 reports.”

The report makes the following recommendations and observations:

• The Committee notes that the economy has recovered more strongly than previously predicted which has resulted in a lower than anticipated budget deficit.
• The Committee notes that inflationary pressures have increased and must continue to be monitored closely.
• The Committee re-iterates its support of providing information on the Existing Level of Service costs as it provides a better estimate of the cost of maintaining existing services than previous estimates.
• The Committee notes concerns that the €5 increase in Social Protection payments reduces the adequacy and connection between payments. The Committee recommends that consideration be given to percentage increases in payment levels.
• The Committee welcomes the inclusion of a contingency reserve for any deterioration in the Covid-19 situation. However, the Committee also notes that unallocated reserves should only be used in specific exceptional circumstances and should not become a feature of the budgetary process.
• The Committee recommends that the Tax Strategy Papers and the Spending Review be published in tandem, no later than July, as has previously been the case.
• The Committee recommends that the white paper be adapted going forward to include more information on a General Government basis.

Deputy Hourigan said: “I hope this report will be of some use to the Members of the Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach, outlining the macro-economic context around the Budget, such as the economic and fiscal position and giving a brief overview of the Budgetary measures, particularly around the core and non-core expenditure.”

Deputy Hourigan thanked Members for their input in developing this report. She also thanked the Parliamentary Budget Office and other organisations for their input into the Committee and their publications which aided in preparing this report.

The Post-Budget 2020 Report is available on the Oireachtas website.