Mr. Seamus McCarthy:

The appropriation account for Vote 29 - Communications, Climate Action and Environment, had total gross expenditure of just under €439 million in 2016. This was distributed across six expenditure programmes, including a new programme in 2016 reflecting the additional responsibility for environment policy transferred to the Department as part of the restructuring of portfolios following Government formation. As part of that transfer, the Department also took on responsibility for management of the environment fund, which had a budget of around €35 million for 2016.

The expenditure under the Vote was divided between the various programmes is as follows. The largest expenditure programme - accounting for €241 million, or more than half of the total spent – related to broadcasting. That programme was substantially funded by television licence fee receipts, which totalled just under €214 million in 2016. Most of the expenditure under the programme was in the form of grants of just over €179 million paid to RTÉ, and €35.4 million to Teilifís na Gaeilge. €13.7 million was paid into the broadcasting fund, and €11.5 million was paid to An Post in respect of its costs of collecting the broadcasting licence fees on behalf of the Department.

The Department spent €86 million on the energy programme in 2016, €66 million of which was committed for energy efficiency programmes promoted by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland.

The Department spent just over €43 million on the environment and waste management programme in 2016. More than half of the programme spending in 2016 was to support the operations of the Environmental Protection Agency. In addition, the Department had a budget under the environment fund in 2016 of around €35 million for environmental projects and initiatives. That expenditure is accounted for separately.

The voted provision for the communications programme in 2016 was €34.7 million, but the expenditure outturn was just over €19 million, an underspend of €15.7 million, or 45%. Almost three quarters of this arose because of unexpected delays in the procurement process for the roll-out of national broadband.

The Department spent just over €30 million under the inland fisheries programme, mainly in grant support for Inland Fisheries Ireland and the North-South Loughs Agency. Spending on this programme was over €2 million higher than originally provided, mainly due to additional funding provided for the fit-out of a new national warehouse and the purchase of new equipment for Inland Fisheries Ireland. The Department spent almost €20 million on a range of services covered by the natural resources programme. About half of the expenditure related to the specialist functions and services of the Geological Survey of Ireland.

The net expenditure on the Vote was around €32 million less than was provided for in the 2016 Estimate. The Department got the agreement of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to carry over €12 million in unspent capital funding to 2017. The balance of the surplus of €20 million was due for surrender.

This brief outline of the Vote expenditure indicates that the Department oversees and funds a broad range of public sector bodies. It also has responsibility for oversight of a number of major commercial State bodies that do not receive ongoing grant funding. These include An Post, EirGrid, the ESB and Bord na Móna.

I have provided the committee with a diagram that aims to summarise the public bodies within the Department’s aegis, indicating those which I audit and those that are outside my remit.