Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Before the Minister answers I should point out, as I did previously at one of these meetings, that I am in the habit of putting in parliamentary questions immediately after the budget for as far back as I can remember, maybe 20 years, on the basis that every Department - some Departments to a greater extent than others - allegedly had insufficient funding and we had to have Supplementary Estimates, including some big ones from time to time. The fact of the matter is this: the Department requiring the funding should identify to a greater extent the full extent of the funding required. We have discussed this quite a number of occasions. There was reference at the last meeting to an email arriving in the relevant Department the day before the budget or on budget day. That is not the way it is supposed to work. I have had input into making requests of the Department of Finance in the past in a different capacity. That took place sometimes months beforehand but always many days beforehand. It does not follow that the Department requiring extra funding, or funding, should expect to say we will have a second look at this because it is not enough. It is never enough. The question is what is enough.