Mr. Seamus McCarthy:

The 2017 Appropriation Account for the President's Establishment, Vote 1, shows gross expenditure of €3.7 million, of which expenditure under the centenarian's bounty scheme accounted for €1.13 million. The balance, totalling €2.6 million, is related to expenses of the President's Establishment.

In addition to the direct charges on the Vote, other costs relating to the operation of the Presidency were charged to other Votes and to the Central Fund of the Exchequer. These amounted to an estimated €5 million in 2017. This includes €2.3 million spent by the OPW on maintaining the grounds and premises at Áras an Uachtaráin, the President’s official residence. A breakdown of the net allied expenditure is given in note 1.1 of the appropriation account.

Vote 2 provides for expenditure by the Department of the Taoiseach in support of the Taoiseach and the Cabinet. Gross expenditure in 2017 totalled €28.3 million. All the expenditure related to one programme, with a breakdown given in note 3. Administration costs, including salaries, totalled €15 million and accounted for 53% of the total spend. Almost €9 million was spent on various statutory inquiries. The National Economic and Social Council, NESC, is the only agency under the aegis of the Department of the Taoiseach. The council received €1.9 million in grants in 2017.

There was a significant underspend on the Vote in 2017, relative to the amount provided by the Oireachtas. As a result, just under €9.2 million was liable for surrender at the year end. Explanations for the variances are given in note 3.