Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

On this €1 billion in non-core expenditure, Mr. Moloney is the Secretary General of the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform. As an Opposition finance spokesperson, am I supposed to pretend that the €550 million allocated for Covid-related expenditure is not really for that - nod, nod, wink, wink - and that it has actually been allocated because the health service has been underfunded for next year and that the €50 million for Ukraine is not really for that either? With respect, it is nonsense to suggest that €1 billion has been allocated for non-core expenditure as if we had not allocated money for those same purposes the year before. There is a reason that money is there. It is a line item relating to particular expenditure that is unique and that has been recurring for a number of years, although it is now reducing.