Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I have four questions for the Secretary General and his colleagues. My questions relate to the Estimates process, the functionality of the Department, communications between Departments and circular 12/2010. These are my four topics and I hope to get through the four questions.

Article 28.4.4° of the Constitution states, "The Government shall prepare Estimates of the Receipts and Estimates of the Expenditure of the State for each financial year, and shall present them to Dáil Éireann for consideration" , while Article 17.1.1° states the Dáil "shall consider such Estimates". I cannot get my head around the Estimates process we went through late last year and revised earlier this year. We had a situation where Estimates were published on 9 October, which was budget day, and we had Revised Estimates on 19 December. There was awareness in the Department of a massive overrun in the children's hospital. The Constitution is clear that the Government "shall prepare Estimates of the Receipts and Estimates of the Expenditure of the State for each financial year", and they have to be done truthfully. How can we say the Estimates done last October were done accurately and to the best ability of the Department? How can we say the book of Revised Estimates of 19 December were also done in this way? On 20 February in the Dáil, when there were further Revised Estimates, the Taoiseach tacitly said they had to be re-profiled. There had been awareness in the Department of the issues relating to the hospital, with regard to an assistant secretary, for some time and there was awareness in the Department on 19 November, as Mr. Watt has outlined, of the large overrun. Were inaccurate Estimates given to the Dáil last October and, subsequently, last December?