Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 30 Mar 1993

Vol. 428 No. 5

Written Answers. - National Budget.

John Bruton

Ceist:

70 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Finance if he will rearrange the way in which the national budget is presented so as to present it (a) to include EC transfers and (b) to exclude EC transfers so as to achieve clear transparency and additionality in this matter.

Minister for Finance (Mr. B. Ahern)

As matters stand, the Exchequer receipts of European Regional Development Fund and Cohesion Funds are specifically identified in the Summary of Capital Budget Requirements on page 31 of the Principal Features of the Budget circulated on Budget Day. Receipts from the Social Fund and FEOGA attributable to Exchequer-funded programmes are allocated in the Estimates Volume against the expenditure service to which they relate. Other information, including the EC Budget contribution, is given in the White Paper on Receipts and Expenditure published on the weekend prior to the Budget.

These various sources are already drawn together in the Table entitled "EC Receipts, Loans and Payments" presented in Part II [Budget Tables and Statistics] of the Budget Booklet. The Table assembles transactions with the Community under the headings:

—Subsidies and grants received from EC Budget

—Loans approved from Community sources

—Payments to the Communities.

It is envisaged that future publications of the Booklet, including the forthcoming (1993) edition, will extend this presentation to incorporate current-year data as well as the outturn statistics that have hitherto been given in the Table.