Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach agus le foireann an choiste as cuireadh a thabhairt dom a bheith leo inniu chun na Meastacháin Breise don Roinn Coimirce Sóisialaí a chur os a gcomhair.

The Department of Social Protection now projects that overall social protection spending in 2025 will be €27.5 billion. This represents an increase of €625 million compared to the Revised Estimate for 2025. This consists of increased expenditure resulting from the Christmas bonus, as well as increased spending on certain schemes. This increased expenditure is partially mitigated by underspending on other schemes.

Not all of this €625 million is being funded through the Supplementary Estimate. There is a funding requirement of €349.7 million in respect of social insurance schemes, which is funded by the 2025 surplus in Social Insurance Fund income. This will more than cover the additional estimated expenditure on social insurance schemes.

In light of this, the total Supplementary Estimate necessary to address the shortfall in Vote 37 schemes for the current year amounts to €261.4 million. I am therefore requesting approval for this Supplementary Estimate. The purpose of this Supplementary Estimate is to address a shortfall in funding, which is required principally due to the payment of the Christmas bonus and also additional expenditure on Vote 37.

I am pleased to announce that the Christmas bonus will again be paid at a rate of 100% this December. The payment recognises the needs of people who are long-term financially dependent on their social welfare payment for all or most of their income, such as pensioners, people with disabilities and carers. The Christmas bonus will be paid to nearly 1.5 million people during the first week of December.

The cost of the Christmas bonus that is paid to people in receipt of payments from voted schemes is met entirely by the Exchequer. For 2025, for voted schemes, this cost is estimated to be €155.7 million.

As the Cathaoirleach is aware, there is a current-year surplus in the Social Insurance Fund. This means the Christmas bonus paid to those on social insurance schemes has been funded from the fund without recourse to funds from the Exchequer. Since the cost of the Christmas bonus was not included in the Department's original Estimates, a Supplementary Estimate is required to cover this additional but essential expenditure. All members will agree that the bonus provides much needed support at this very expensive time of the year.

In the briefing material provided to the committee, we have separately included, in table 4, the additional expense of the Christmas bonus, to be paid for each scheme in Vote 37, showing the effect of these supports on the requirement for a Supplementary Estimate. Table 4 also provides the outturn position on the various schemes prior to the payment of the bonus, which eases comparison between the original Estimate and the Supplementary Estimate. I hope the committee finds this approach useful but I am open to suggestions and ideas as to how we present this information. The balance of the Supplementary Estimate is required to meet a net overspend on the schemes and services delivered by my Department.

In June this year, a Revised Estimate of €26.9 billion was considered by the committee for projected 2025 social protection spending.

I have provided the committee with details of all schemes where the projected end of year Vote expenditure deviates from that projected in June. I will now go through some of the key issues to give a little bit more detail to the committee.

The position of the Social Insurance Fund in 2025 is again very healthy. As a result of our exceptionally strong labour market performance this year, the Social Insurance Fund's PRSI income to the end of 2025 is projected at almost €18.5 billion. Gross fund expenditure in 2025 is now projected to be €14 billion, including expenditure for the Christmas bonus in quarter 4, in respect of Social Insurance Fund schemes. This means that no Social Insurance Fund subvention is required from the Exchequer in 2025 and the Social Insurance Fund will carry forward an accumulated surplus, currently estimated at €13.6 billion into 2026. While this is welcome, it is also vital given the future financial pressures we face in terms of our changing demographics in the coming years, and those years are not that far away.

As stated, my Department is projecting that it will spend €27.5 billion in 2025, representing an increase of €625 million when compared with the Revised Estimate for 2025. Given the Social Insurance Fund income surplus, no Exchequer subvention is required to pay the additional €349.7 million in respect of social insurance schemes. However, €261.4 million of a Supplementary Estimate is required to meet the shortfall on Vote 37 schemes. This €261.4 million includes an additional €9.8 million required on administration due to pressure on the Department's pay budget and resource allocation due to increased demands for departmental schemes and services. An additional €268.7 million is required for schemes and services funded from Vote 37. Combined, these amount to €278.5 million, of which €17.1 million is offset by additional appropriations-in-aid receipts taken in by the Department.

All of this money is extremely important but it could not be invested or make a difference to people, families and communities throughout the country without the extraordinary work of the people who make up the Department of Social Protection. Since I joined the Department, I have seen at first hand the hard work being done day in, day out supporting people in every part of our country. I recognise the work of the Department's teams to ensure that, as we sit here today, payments are being made to hundreds of thousands of people. In addition to this, other work in the Department continues. It is a huge amount of work by a lot of incredibly dedicated people.

This work will continue with the delivery of the Christmas bonus and will be followed up with the launch of My Future Fund, which we have discussed in detail. Ireland will be the last country in the OECD to introduce auto-enrolment. Up to two thirds of workers in the private sector are not actively contributing to an occupational pension scheme or equivalent. My Future Fund will pave the way for around 750,000 workers to be brought into a retirement savings scheme for the first time. While today's attention is rightly on our financial figures, it is important to remember, as we all do in our daily work, the outcomes enabled by these payments. These outcomes include providing support throughout individuals' lives, reducing poverty and promoting dignity and respect, which are the real deliverables that matter.

I thank all of the budget team, those who are here with me and those who are in the Department. As we come to this stage of the year, I thank the committee for its professionalism, courtesy and dedication on behalf of all they represent and for our engagement. I thank the Cathaoirleach, the clerk and the team also. I thank the members for the opportunity and I look forward to taking questions.