Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 5 March 2019
55. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the extent to which he has been alerted to potential budgetary overruns in respect of various Departments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10628/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraExpenditure Report 2019 set out total gross voted expenditure of €66.6 billion for 2019. Of this, €59.3 billion is gross voted current expenditure, while €7.3 billion is gross voted capital expenditure. Ministerial allocations, as agreed by the Government, were set out in further detail in the Revised Estimates Volume (REV) published in December.
The effective and efficient delivery of public services within budgetary allocations is a key responsibility of each Minister and Department. In relation to spending, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform is in regular contact with all other Departments and Offices to ensure that expenditure is being managed within the overall fiscal parameters. The drawdown of funds from the Exchequer is reported on each month against expenditure profiles in the Fiscal Monitor published by the Department of Finance.
At end-February, gross voted expenditure of €9,787 million was €141 million, or 1.4 per cent, below profile. In year-on-year terms, this is €725 million (8.0%) ahead on the same period in 2018. Gross Voted Current Expenditure of €9,286 million is €60 million, or 0.6 per cent, below profile and up by €660 million, or 7.6 per cent in year-on-year terms. Gross Voted Capital Expenditure of €501 million is €81 million, or 14 per cent, below profile and up by €66 million, or 15.1 per cent, year-on-year. At this stage of the year, 13 of the 17 Vote groups are on or below profile.
