Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 10 July 2019
125. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Finance the additional resources for commitment to spending increases or taxation reductions available in budget 2020 if the projected 0.4% GGB surplus was reduced to nil; the estimated impact it would have on the structural deficit and expenditure benchmark; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30289/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraI can advise the Deputy that the additional resources for commitment to spending increases or taxation reductions available in Budget 2020, if the projected 0.4% General Government Balance surplus was reduced to nil, would be c. €1.2 billion (as outlined in Table 10 of the Stability Programme Update 2019).
The subsequent estimated impact on the structural deficit would be a deterioration of 0.4 percentage points to a minus 0.8 per cent of GDP.
As noted above, a c. €1.2 billion general government surplus is projected for 2020. If this were reduced to nil (i.e. additional expenditure of c. €1.2 billion), it would equate to a breach of the expenditure benchmark by €1 billion given that net fiscal space for 2020 is €0.2 billion (as set out in the Summer Economic Statement 2019 - Annex 1, Table A1).
