The main purpose of the Appropriation Bill, as Senators are no doubt aware, is to give statutory effect to sums voted by the Dáil for supply services or, in less technical terms, for the ordinary services of Government Departments, both capital and non-capital, the money for which is voted on an annual basis. It is essential that the Bill be enacted before the end of the year.
Section 1 of the Bill provides for a payment of £10 from the Central Fund to make good an excess on the grant for Army pensions for the year 1979. This excess arose due to delays encountered during the postal dispute in that year.
Section 2 of the Bill, which is the principal section, appropriates to the specific services set out in the Schedule to the Bill the sum of £4,366,583,040 comprising of the original estimate of £3,767,441,000 and Supplementary Estimates of £599,142,030 and the excess which arose in 1979 of £10 mentioned in section 1. In addition, it authorises the use of certain departmental receipts as Appropriations-in-Aid.