Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister and his officials for coming in today. I will start with the allocation of €4.1 billion in additional capital expenditure between 2018 and 2021 which the Minister referenced in his opening address. How does he expect that figure to break down during the four years, especially for 2018? Does he see a clear division of the €4.1 billion over the four years or will some projects be more costly in the second and third year of that period?

In terms of health spending, I am mindful that last year's budget saw record levels of funding for the health sector, both in percentage terms and in overall terms. It made up approximately 25% of expenditure in last year's budget. With regard to this budget and any future budgets over which he might preside, does the Minister envisage health funding needing to be at that level? Was there an element of catching up last year due to demographics and the fact we are catching up on a number of years of not being able to spend on that sector? In broad terms does he see health remaining at the same level of priority, or needing to, from an expenditure point of view?

What are the costings involved in moving towards an equalisation of the self-employed tax credit? In light of the fact that property prices are rising, has there been an analysis of the impact on capital acquisitions tax?

Regarding the broad area of social protection, the quarterly National household survey, QNHS, saw unemployment down by 55% from the first quarter of 2012 to the first quarter of 2017, which mirrored a 28% reduction in the live register for that period and a 61% reduction in the long-term unemployment figures. At the same time, 230,000 people found new jobs, representing a 13% growth in employment. While I accept that getting the little over 6% of people who are unemployed into labour is more challenging than going from 15% to 6%, what is the Minister's view of the overall social protection budget, given the easing of funding pressures as a result of the number of people who are back at work? How best can we use the space this creates to promote a better society and improve people's lives?