Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

That will be done in advance of the budget. I presume that will allow increases in expenditure ceiling. Will the deficit targets still remain the same?

I have a number of specific questions on the Estimates, which flow from the Department's briefing document. The Minister has tried to create the impression that things are at the same level, but the provisional outturn last year was €32.9 million whereas the Estimate for this year is €35.9 million, an increase of €3 million or 9%. There has been a 10% increase in the Department's expenditure. Where will the savings materialise? I understand there will be major increases in Vote 18 (Shared Services) and Vote 41 (Office of Public Procurement) but have savings been made somewhere else in the system to compensate or will they arise in three or four years' time?

I wish to question the Minister on the grant to the ESRI, which is a registered charity and is covered by the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest, FEMPI, legislation. The ESRI has a total income of €10.5 million and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform provides funding of €2.6 million or about a quarter of its funding. What measures has he taken to ensure that the staff of the ESRI do not receive top ups to their salaries from the non-Government money they receive? Will he outline the details of the staff pension scheme? I understand that ESRI pension scheme is similar to the public service pension scheme, notwithstanding that only one-quarter of its funding comes from the Minister's Department. Why would the taxpayer be asked to provide a fully funded pension scheme, the equivalent of a defined benefit scheme for the ESRI, given that a quarter of the funding comes directly from an Oireachtas Vote?

I could put the same question to the Minister in respect of the Institute of Public Administration. The IPA has annual income of the order of €10 million to €11 million, of which one third is funded by the Department, but the taxpayer is underwriting 100% of the staff pensions. This is akin to what we have seen in some of the other organisations and registered charities in the health sector, where the State provides significant funding but the organisation also has substantial income from other sources. In light of the recent controversy, what measures has the Minister taken to ensure nobody received top up payments? I am not suggesting there are top-ups, as I have no basis to do so, but has the Minister taken steps to reassure himself that this is not case?

Will he explain why there should be a fully-funded pension scheme for an organisation where, in the case of both organisations, only 25% of their income comes from his Department?

I have a simple question on the regional assemblies. The Minister might outline the changes. How does the change in the regional assembly structure impinge on the Estimate?

The Minister is setting up a new office of the national lottery regulator for which he is allowing €552,000. I want him to break this figure down and tell us about the consultancy involved. I hope the Minister will micro-manage that, unlike his colleague who does not think such new offices or organisations should be micro-managed. This is taxpayers' money.

On the Valuation Office, we all will be aware that the country needs to be revalued because many areas were valued at the height of the boom. The legislation is still in the Seanad and has not yet come to the Dáil. What are the implications? Will they be able to speed up the process? Is there to be a 20-year programme before some counties get revalued?

With regard to the Ombudsman's office, Vote 19, as the Minister correctly states in the briefing documentation, there are 180 new bodies coming under the Ombudsman's remit, including the new Freedom of Information Bill 2013, whenever the Minister comes back to us on Report Stage and drops his increases in search and retrieval charges. The Minister also mentions there are new staff required under the regulation of lobbying Bill, but that has not yet even been published. He might give us a timescale on that. Given all that extra responsibility for the Ombudsman, there is an increase in the overall Ombudsman's office that covers the Standards in Public Office, SIPO, Commission and all those organisations as well, in the order of €1 million. It does not seem a great deal for all the extra work the Minister seems to be giving the office.