Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy made a very good point about the link between the money we spend and the effect it can have on people's lives. It is encouraging to see the scale of increase in the number of homes being built. As I am well reminded from my engagement across the country and in my constituency, we still have a long journey to travel in this regard.

In terms of how much my Department engages with the Department of Health, from my point of view, at a political level, it is virtually every day. From the point of view of my Department, significant engagement takes place each week. What is particularly disappointing in terms of the scale of the overrun in the Department of Health is that in the previous two years we had made significant progress in reducing the amount required by the Department via Supplementary Estimate. For a number of different reasons, we were not successful in maintaining that approach as we moved into this year. Let me put that in context. No Supplementary Estimate was needed in 2016 and €195 million was required in 2017. The position in 2016 and 2017 was a major improvement on previously. The difficulty the Government and I faced in 2018 is now well known.

The HSE, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the Department of Health now engage on a monthly basis with regard to how matters stand and do so in an even more intensive way than was the case in the past.

We now have a very clear idea by policy area in the Department of Health what figures need to look like on a monthly basis. In light of what happened last year, it is even more of a priority for me than it normally would be.

On the question about corporation tax, I have visited the United States twice since the middle of December. On one occasion, I visited policymakers in Washington where I met representatives of the Department of the Treasury, Department of State and Department of Commerce. Last week, I visited the west coast of America. It is apparent to me that the overall policy package we offer on corporation tax and in many other areas, most notably how we manage data policy, is an offering that will continue to be very competitive in 2019 and beyond.