Vol. 553 No. 7
140 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Education and Science the way in which spending in the first six months of 2002 compares to the budgeted profile for spending for each major programme of his Department's spending; and his forecast for year end overruns. [15109/02]
My reply relates to expenditure to end May 2002 as information to end June 2002 will not be available for two weeks.
Gross current expenditure for the education group of Votes to end May was €2,043 million compared to profiled expenditure of €2,096 million. Capital expenditure was €166 million compared to profiled expenditure of €180 million.
Although expenditure was behind profile for both current and capital expenditure, there are pressures on certain subheads. I am monitoring the emerging trends closely and I am in contact with the Minister for Finance regarding possible appropriate steps to ensure that spending for the Education Votes remains on target for the year as a whole.
