Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There is a provision for purchasing carbon credits. I think it is at something like €4.5 million. We anticipate that we will be well short of the end-year target which we were to be at in 2020 so even though there was a bit of a surplus early in the period of 2013 to 2020, when we were below our line and therefore earning credits, we will end up with a significant deficit and provision is being made.

The funding for the EPA is a transition of the EPA's non-pay costs from the environment fund to the Vote and for increases due to EPA staff and pensioners under the Public Service Stability Agreement 2018-2020. They are standard increases coming from costs rather than from additional activity.