Bernard J. Durkan
Ceist:185 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Finance if he has received an indication or request for any Supplementary Estimate from Government Departments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14664/02]
Written Answers. - Capital Expenditure.
Bernard J. Durkan
Ceist:189 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Finance the areas in respect of which reduced Government spending is anticipated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14677/02]
Bernard J. Durkan
Ceist:190 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Finance the areas in respect of which he anticipates increased Government spending; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14678/02]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 185, 189 and 190 together.
Supplementary Estimates are departmental estimations of additional moneys required towards the end of the year to meet both known and anticipated pressures on spending.
I have approved one request for a Supplementary Estimate for the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism – the motion in respect of that is before this House today – and I have not as yet received any other requests for Supplementary Estimates from any other Departments. I expect to receive requests from all Departments for Supplementary Estimates relating to the, as yet, unallocated funding provision for benchmarking. Furthermore, as is normal each year, I expect that I will receive a number of requests for technical Supplementary Estimates, that is, those that involve no additional funds overall but which relate to the transfer of funds between votes, the provision of additional moneys to grant-in-aid subheads, etc.
The overall position on voted expenditure is being monitored on an ongoing basis. The year-on-year spending increase shown at end-May – 27% – exceeded the annual increase provided in the Estimates – 14%. However, this does not of itself indicate an end-year excess on spending, and it should be noted that year-on-year percent age increases during the early part of the year are affected by a variety of factors such as the timing of payments this year, the level of spending in the corresponding period last year and the absolute size of the figures being compared.
Notwithstanding these timing issues, there are pressures on expenditure in some areas such as demand led schemes in the health area, capital expenditure on national roads and prison officer overtime, for which additional funding will be provided. Departments have been required by Government to take appropriate measures to ensure that expenditures are controlled over the remainder of the year and to make appropriate adjustments to ensure that the final overall outturn for expenditure will come in line with the original plan for the year as whole. This is a normal procedure following a mid-year review of trends to date.