Pádraic McCormack
Ceist:247 Mr. McCormack asked the Minister for Finance the total amount in the Contingency Fund of his Department. [22895/98]
Written Answers. - Departmental Funding.
The Deputy may be referring to the Contingency Fund which is a non-statutory fund of £20,000 which may be utilised in very limited circumstances, formed by a grant-in-aid voted by the Dáil in 1923-24 (the vote was confirmed in the Appropriation Act, 1923) for the purpose of defraying urgent or unforeseen expenditure which: is not covered by ordinary Vote; cannot immediately, but will subsequently be brought to the notice of the Dáil; the Dáil may reasonably be expected to approve; and is subject to the audit of the Comptroller and Auditor General.
All advances from the fund are repaid either by (a) a new or additional Vote if the advance is for a completely new service or (b) by way of Supplementary Estimate, if the service is related to an existing Vote.
By agreement with the Committee of Public Accounts the use of the fund is precluded when the Dáil is sittiing and for new services of a controversial nature.
The account of the fund is published each year with the Appropriation Accounts.
The Deputy may also have in mind the contingency provision in the budgetary arithmetic for the second and third year of the three year multi-annual budgetary system. This represents a prudent provision in the overall budgetary projections against possible adverse factors outside the control of Government which may impact on the budget position but which cannot be foreseen at the time of a budget. Examples are variability in tax buoyancy and exceptional costs arising in areas of public expenditure. There is no provision made in the first year of any budget as all factors relating to the initial year are more clearly known.