Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Cathaoirleach and members for the opportunity to be here this afternoon. I am here to engage on six Supplementary Estimates proposed for Votes under the Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform Vote group. I will detail the requirements for each Vote but, in summary, they comprise a technical Supplementary Estimate of €1,000 for Vote 11; a technical Supplementary Estimate of a net €1,000 and gross €22.1 million for Vote 12 – Superannuation and Retired Allowances; a technical Supplementary Estimate for a net €1,000 and a gross €120,000 for Vote 14 – State Laboratory; a technical Supplementary Estimate for a net €1,000 and a gross €665,000 for Vote 17 – Public Appointments Service; a technical Supplementary Estimate of a token €1,000 for Vote 18 – National Shared Services Office; and a technical Supplementary Estimate of a token €1,000 for Vote 19 – Office of the Ombudsman. Altogether, the proposed Supplementary Estimates would result in an increased allocation of €6,000 in net terms and €22.9 million in gross terms across the six Votes. A further Supplementary Estimate under the ministerial Vote group is being sought for the Office of Public Works. My colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, will speak to that.

With regard to Vote 11, we are seeking a technical Supplementary Estimate to allow for the transfer of funding between departmental subheads. This is to ensure that adequate funding is available for programme A16, which relates to pensions for bodies under the aegis of the Department, particularly the ESRI, the IPA and the Office of the Regulator of the National Lottery. As public servants are only required to give one month's notice of retirement, it is difficult to forecast the cost of lump sums and pensions. In 2024, it is expected that €612,000 extra will be required in programme A16. No additional funding is required in 2024 other than the token amount of €1,000 as there are savings within programme A1, which relates to salaries, wages, pensions and allowances, that can offset this expected overspend. The 2025 estimate for pensions for bodies under the aegis of the Department has increased from €1.536 million to €2.206 million to mitigate any potential future overspends.

With regard to Vote 12 – Superannuation and Retired Allowances, this is for a net amount of €1,000 and will, if agreed, allow the Vote to utilise additional appropriations-in-aid to fund projected expenditure. The receipts for appropriations-in-aid are higher than forecast due to greater than expected contributions on subhead B7, single public service pension scheme. This proposal utilises additional appropriations-in-aid and will increase the gross ceiling of Vote 12 by €21.1 million. The technical Supplementary Estimate in respect of the superannuation Vote will bring the total 2024 Estimate for that Vote to €891.7 million gross and €225.4 million net. This Estimate arises due to a higher number of retirements than expected for 2024. This has resulted in costs under the pension scheme for established civil servants being higher than forecast. Expenditure in this regard is dependent on the number and grade mix of those who retire, and varies year to year.

The Supplementary Estimate for Vote 14 is for a net amount of €1,000 and will allow the Vote to utilise appropriations-in-aid, in addition to savings in salaries, wages, pensions and allowances, to fund higher than expected electricity and gas costs. Savings in subhead A1 arise as a result of delays in recruitment of staff in the first half of the year while appropriations-in-aid are due to a higher number of tests completed and billed in 2024, and this will result in an increase in the gross ceiling of Vote 14 by €122,000.

A technical Supplementary Estimate is sought for the Public Appointments Service. This is again for a net amount of €1,000 and will allow the Vote to utilise appropriations-in-aid to fund the delivery of enhanced recruitment for An Garda Síochána. In 2024, PAS and An Garda Síochána agreed that PAS would facilitate a process for enhanced Garda recruitment on the basis that An Garda Síochána agreed to transfer €664,000 to PAS. This, therefore, requires a technical Supplementary Estimate which will result in an increase in the gross ceiling of Vote 17 by €664,000.

The Supplementary Estimate for Vote 18 – National Shared Services Office is a technical Supplementary Estimate of €1,000 to provide for the reallocation of funding within the Vote to areas experiencing pressures. The Supplementary Estimate will allow for €7.295 million in savings across a number of programme areas to be allocated mainly to address pressures arising within the area of enterprise IT. Given the nature of the office, the NSSO is a significant consumer of IT related services and costs in this area have been increasing year on year.

A technical Supplementary Estimate of €1,000 is sought for Vote 19 – Office of the Ombudsman to provide for the reallocation of funding within the Vote to areas experiencing pressures. It will provide scope for the office to increase the legal fees subhead by €710,000 in 2024 to meet the cost of legal fees and settlements which are expected to fall due towards the end of the financial year. Cases span a number of years and the timing of the conclusion of each case is difficult to estimate. Therefore, the exact amount of legal costs and the timing of when those costs are due can vary from the original Estimate.

Approval of the Supplementary Estimates outlined will enable the Votes concerned to provide key services and projects to the end of the year. I have, on a few occasions in my opening statement, used the term "token". That is not to say that €1,000 is a token amount of money. It is just to say that, in keeping with accounting best practice, when we are moving money around inside a Vote, we have been asked to indicate that by a Supplementary Estimate of €1,000 or an amount thereof to indicate to the Oireachtas that a change is happening inside a Vote.

I commend these Estimates to the committee and I look forward to any questions that the Chairman and the members will have.