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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 5 Nov 2002

Vol. 556 No. 3

Written Answers. - Fiscal Policy.

Richard Bruton

Ceist:

278 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Finance if decisions have been taken by the Cabinet in the course of 2002 which involve increases in spending beyond the limits approved in the Estimates of 2002; the decisions involved; and the estimated spending involved in 2002 and in a full year of operation. [19836/02]

I made it clear at the beginning of this year that I was determined to ensure that expenditure was on target. At the start of the year, I initiated a system of monthly expenditure management reports to Government. These are based on the end-month Exchequer returns and are designed to give the Government full and timely information on emerging spending trends so that it is in a position to take action if problems are identified.

The Government has throughout the year adopted the approach that any unavoidable pressures on spending in some areas would have to be funded by equivalent offsetting savings in other areas. This approach was, for example, reflected in the decisions taken by the Government last June following the end-May Exchequer issues. The Government decided at that time to provide additional funding of about €300 million to meet unavoidable pressures in relation to certain health service schemes, accommodation for homeless persons and asylum seekers, the national roads programme, school supervision and substitution arrangements and prison officer overtime. The Government also agreed a variety of offsetting measures designed to ensure that the increase in overall spending would not exceed the 14.4% increase provided for in the Revised Estimates.
More recently, the Government decided to provide additional funding of about €200 million to meet further unavoidable pressures in the health and education sectors in relation to demand-led schemes and emerging shortfalls in appropriations-in-aid receipts. However, it appears likely that the €150 million provision for benchmarking will not now be paid in 2002 and, as in previous years, some end-year savings across Votes can also be expected to materialise.
The 2002 Revised Estimates provided for an increase of 14.4% in net voted expenditure and I am still aiming to ensure that spending overall will come in close to target. I intend to publish a forecast outturn as part of the 2003 Abridged Estimates volume later this month. The end-year issues for 2002 will not, of course, be available until early in January 2003.
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