Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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231. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the degree to which he has identified specific targets for his Department in line with expenditure and reform objectives; the timescale to achieve such objectives; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17436/20]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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233. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the degree to which he plans to utilise the concept of reform as a means of controlling expenditure within his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17438/20]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 231 and 233 together.

Over the last number of years, a range of reforms have been implemented in order to enhance Ireland’s budgetary framework and ensure that expenditure is managed in an efficient and effective way. The intention of these reforms is to increase transparency around the budgetary process and to facilitate meaningful dialogue around key elements of the Budget and on what is being achieved with public funds.

Central to these reforms is the ‘whole-of-year’ budgetary framework. This refers to an ongoing consideration of budgetary priorities throughout the year, rather than focusing budget discussions only around Budget Day. An important element of this is the publication of a range of documents at key points in the year to enhance engagement on relevant budgetary issues.

Improving and supporting the evaluation capacity within Government Departments has also formed an important part of the reform programme. Supported by the establishment of the Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service, this has led to the development of a number of additional processes and reports to support the budgetary framework. This includes:

- Performance Budgeting - A key objective of the Performance Budgeting Initiative is to shift the focus away from the quantum of spend and towards outputs and impacts. The Public Service Performance Report presents performance information in an accessible manner and aims to facilitate discussion around what is being delivered with public funds and how this impacts the citizen.

- Equality Budgeting – Equality budgeting involves providing greater information on the likely impacts of proposed and/or ongoing budgetary measures, which, in turn, enhances the potential to better facilitate the integration of equality concerns into the budgetary process. An OECD "Policy Scan" Report on Equality Budgeting was completed in 2019, and was published on Budget Day in October last, setting out a number of ambitious objectives to progress this aspect of the budgetary reform agenda.

- Spending Review- This process aims to place evidence at the heart of policy making, by systematically examining existing spending programmes with a view to assessing their efficiency and effectiveness. This approach can support the re-allocation of funding to meet expenditure priorities.

The Programme for Government commits to continuing reform and improvement of the Budgetary process and proposes that each Minister will be required to produce service improvement and reform plans in conjunction with my Department, within an overall context of an enhanced focus across Government on issues of well-being. In implementing this reform, my Department will look to build on the budgetary reforms already in place and the significant work on public service reform already completed.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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232. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the extent to which his planned policy is in line with the strategy of the Fiscal Advisory Group; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17437/20]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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234. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the extent to which he expects to monitor current and capital expenditure levels with a view to ensuring compliance with good economic strategy and adherence to expenditure guidelines while encouraging economic performance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17439/20]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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235. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the extent to which he expects to facilitate economic progress throughout the next five years by means of the utilisation of best practice and Government policy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17440/20]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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236. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he is satisfied that he can encourage economic performance and job creation through the medium of the utilisation of compliance with European guidelines in respect of expenditure and reform; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17441/20]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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237. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the policies he expects to pursue over the next five years to compliment Government objectives with regard to expenditure and reform; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17442/20]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 232, 234, 235, 236 and 237 together.

For every Department and Minister, managing expenditure within allocations is a key responsibility. Over the last number of months, significant additional expenditure has been allocated to a number of Departments in response to Covid-19. While we find ourselves in an unprecedented situation with regards to this virus, all of the usual measures remain in place in relation to the sanctioning and management of expenditure.

The overall allocation set out for 2020 in the Revised Estimates Volume (REV) 2020, published in December 2019, was €70.4 billion in gross voted expenditure. Including the additional expenditure agreed by the Dáil in relation to Covid-19 measures, the revised Government Expenditure Ceiling now amounts to €79.7 billion. This reflects an additional €6.8 billion for the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection, nearly €2 billion for the Department of Health and €483 million for the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation.

Further measures have also been announced by Government in response to the Covid-19 crisis, notably the decision to extend the Pandemic Unemployment Payment and the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme to August. Taking into account the estimated cost of these decisions made to end-June, the overall expenditure increase compared with the figures set out in REV 2020 is almost €12 billion. This does not reflect supports to be announced as part of the July Stimulus plan.

Arising from Government formation, a number of reconfigurations of Government Departments are underway. On completion of these transfers of functions and related allocations, restated Estimates will be presented to the Dáil reflecting the new Departmental structures and allocations. These Estimates will reflect decisions in relation to additional funding to respond to Covid-19, including that set out in the July stimulus. Over the coming months, it will be important that Departments manage within the allocations set out in these Estimates.

Coordinated action at EU level, including ECB support in the bond markets and the activation of the General Escape Clause of the Stability and Growth Pact, has been important in addressing the Covid-19 crisis. This has supported the Government's approach towards the Covid-19 crisis, with substantial additional resources being allocated that are being funded by borrowings as the General Government Balance moves from surplus in 2019 to a significant deficit this year.

As regards the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council: in its Fiscal Advisory Report, published in June, the Council assessed the Government’s swift response to the pandemic as appropriate. The Council also recommended a temporary and targeted fiscal stimulus during the recovery phase. The overarching measures already introduced have provided support across a broad range of sectors impacted by Covid-19. As our economy and society reopens, recovery is underway. However, it is clear that it is weak in many sectors and that there is a clear role for further measures to support economic activity and employment. The July stimulus, which is in the process of being agreed by Government, will provide additional targeted supports to stimulate activity across the economy, provide assistance to firms and support employment in the short- and medium-term.

Taking a longer-term view, a National Economic Plan will be published in conjunction with Budget 2021, setting out our long-term approach to restoring employment and outlining how we will secure our public finances. As the economy returns to growth and employment is restored, it is important that the deficit is reduced year-on-year to underpin the sustainability of the public finances. To achieve this aim, a sustainable Medium-Term Expenditure framework will be pursued that provides a clear pathway back to a balanced budget. Throughout this process, Government will prioritise policy actions that protect the most vulnerable and put in place new measures for economic decision making that reflect the welfare and quality of life of those living in Ireland.

A sustainable Medium-Term expenditure framework, means ensuring that we are achieving the greatest possible impact with public expenditure and delivering high quality public services in an efficient and effective manner. A range of reforms have been put in place over the last number of years with the aim of focusing attention on achieving value for money. For example, the Performance Budgeting initiative seeks to shift focus away from simply looking at the quantum of spend towards examining what is being delivered through public expenditure. My Department is also now managing the first year of a new cycle of the Spending Review process, which is another key tool in ensuring efficiency and effectiveness in public expenditure and which can support the reallocation of funding to meet expenditure priorities where necessary. As set out in the Programme for Government, we are committed to continuing that programme of reform.