Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the committee for the opportunity to be here this afternoon. I am presenting six Supplementary Estimates, so I am required to say a word on each of them.

In summary, they are: a technical Supplementary Estimate of a token €1,000 for Vote 11, the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform; a technical Supplementary Estimate of a net €1,000 and a gross €20 million for the superannuation and retired allowances Vote; a substantive Supplementary Estimate of a net €388,000 and a gross €537,000 for Vote 14, the State Laboratory; a substantive Supplementary Estimate of a net value of €152,000 and a gross value of €282,000 for Vote 17, the Public Appointments Service; a technical Supplementary Estimate of a token €1,000 for Vote 18, the National Shared Services Office; and a substantive Supplementary Estimate of €4.9 million in net and gross terms for the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer. Together, the overall value of the Supplementary Estimates is €5.446 million in net terms and €25.725 million in gross terms across the six Votes.

On Vote 11, the reason for the increased allocation is the transfer of OneLearning, the organisation that supports the development of skills and competencies across the Civil Service, and certain senior public service functions to the Institute of Public Administration in late 2023. The transfer will facilitate the expansion of these services within a body whose core function is learning and development. It will allow the IPA to scale up and for more learning and development courses to be made available to the wider public service. Costs of just over €200,000 have been incurred by the IPA this year due to the transfer that were not originally provided for in the IPA grant line. The funding movement will allow for the IPA to be reimbursed in respect of these costs. No additional funding is required other than the token €1,000 as there are savings within the Civil Service learning and development programme subhead due to the wind-down of these functions in the Department to cover the IPA costs.

Under Vote 12, the superannuation and retired allowances Vote, there is a technical Supplementary Estimate for a net amount of €1,000. This will allow the Vote to use additional appropriations-in-aid to fund projected expenditure. The receipts for appropriations-in-aid are higher than forecast due to higher than expected contributions on subhead B7 of the single public service pension scheme. This will increase the gross ceiling of Vote 12 by €20 million. The Supplementary Estimate arises mainly due to higher than forecast costs for the year under the pension scheme for established civil servants as a result of a higher number of retirements than anticipated for 2023. Expenditure in this regard is dependent on the number and grade mix of those who choose to retire and is subject to significant variability from one year to another. The higher number of retirements than anticipated has a double effect of increasing the lump-sum expenditure in the current year as well as increasing the number of pensioners on the fortnightly pension payroll. This means a Supplementary Estimate is now required for Vote 12.

Under Vote 14, a net value of €388,000 and a gross value of €537,000 is being sought for the State Laboratory. This is to cover the increased premises expenses due to higher energy costs. The work of the State Laboratory requires energy use for the running of laboratory equipment, much of which is in operation 24 hours a day. It is estimated that an additional €640,000 will be required to meet energy costs this year, which is partially offset by expected savings of €100,000 on pay and increased appropriations-in-aid.

For the Public Appointments Service, €152,000 in net terms and €282,000 in gross terms is being sought for additional expenditure on payroll, recruitment advertising and other areas of recruitment support over the year. These areas have experienced pressures due to the volume of recruitment activity in the public service and the impact of operating in a market with close to full employment. Those pressures are mainly on current expenditure, with PAS being able to offset some of the costs due to capital expenditure savings.

Under Vote 18, a token Supplementary Estimate of €1,000 is sought for the NSSO to provide for the reallocation of funding within the Vote to areas experiencing pressures. The Supplementary Estimate will allow for €1.9 million in pay savings under programme A to transfer to other areas within the Vote, thereby meeting higher costs than profiled in areas such as additional overtime to deliver Building Momentum arrears and support the establishment of Tailte Éireann, ICT contractor costs and managed service provider costs.

Under Vote 43, a Supplementary Estimate of €4.9 million is sought for the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer to provide for the extension of national low-latency platforms, NLLPs, to the ports of Dublin, Rosslare and Cork using 5G, dark fibre and radio connectivity. This funding will support the purchase of circuits, equipment and services to plan, deploy and commission a secure network at each of the ports that will connect to the NLLP. It will support the roll-out of a number of applications to staff working in the vicinity of the ports. It will also support staff in carrying out the additional checks and controls required as a consequence of the UK's decision to leave the European Union. It will be funded via the Brexit adjustment reserve, BAR, claim to the European Commission.

Approval of the Supplementary Estimates outlined will enable the Votes concerned to continue to provide key services and projects until the end of the year. I commend the Supplementary Estimates to the committee. I am happy to answer any questions members have.