Michael Ahern (Cork East, Fianna Fail)

The Deputy did not show much gratitude for the time I agreed to share with him.

A number of Opposition Deputies have called during this debate for the reform of the Estimates and budgetary process. The Minister for Finance said in last year's Budget Statement that he was open to considering how improvements could be made in the process in the context of the current situation. Three-year economic and fiscal programmes are published in the EU stability programme updates included in the budget booklet. The Government has started to adopt multi-annual capital budgets which allow it to focus more clearly on the reasons it is investing and what it expects from such investment. Each Department publishes strategy statements which set out what it is seeking to do. The Minister has been examining proposals for the reform of the process, in conjunction with his Government colleagues, since he made the announcement last year to which I referred.

The recent report published by the Committee of Public Accounts is a useful contribution to the general consideration of this matter. The Minister has been considering options which would facilitate more informed Dáil scrutiny of the global tax and expenditure budgetary aggregates and the individual Estimates of each Department, while retaining the Government's right and duty to direct and manage the budgetary process. We need to take care to ensure the annual budget is based on the most up-to-date information available and that the Government's ability to make timely decisions is not impacted on adversely. The Minister intends to return to this matter on budget day.

Any reform of the budgetary and Estimates process will be in addition to the reforms of public expenditure management which the Government has introduced in recent years to improve public accountability in respect of public spending. Such reforms include the publication at the beginning of each year of monthly expenditure profiles to facilitate the ongoing monitoring of expenditure, the introduction of new management information systems across Departments to support improved accountability, improvements in the arrangements for the management and appraisal of public capital expenditure, reforms of public procurement and the expenditure review process. The reform process will complement the more recent value for money initiatives in respect of ICT projects and consultancies and additional general measures introduced by the Minister in October.

I reject the charge of Deputy Bruton and others that we have nothing to show for the high levels of public expenditure in recent years and that there is no substance to the Estimates. Contrary to Opposition claims, there have been real improvements in public service outputs in recent years. The pupil-teacher ratio at primary level decreased from 22.3:1 in 1996-97 to 17:1 in 2003-04. The ratio at second level dropped from 16:1 to 13.6:1 over the same period. At primary level this has been achieved, even though the number of pupils increased from 440,000 in 2000-01 to 446,000 in 2003-04.

The number of inpatient and day case patient discharges from hospitals increased by 4.4% in 2004, compared to 2003. The number of day work discharges increased significantly by 8% in the same period, in line with international best practice. The number of nurses has not been falling, contrary to Deputy Bruton's claims. There was an increase of over 5,100 in the four years from the end of 2000. There was an increase of more than 630 in the number of nurses in voluntary hospitals in the same period.

The Government has significantly increased the rates of social welfare payments for the most vulnerable in society — the elderly and the young — in recent years. The rate of payment of old age contributory pension increased by 39% in real terms, from €99 to €179.30 per week, between 1997 and 2005.

Some 23 national road projects are under construction. Some of the major projects which have been or will be completed this year include the Dundalk bypass and the Kilcock-Kinnegad motorway, which were PPP projects, the M50 south-eastern motorway and the Carrickmacross bypass. Nineteen of the 23 major road projects which are under way are on or below budget and will be delivered on or ahead of schedule.

I refute the suggestion the Government has not delivered on its investment promises. It is strongly committed to investment as a key priority. It has made unprecedented levels of resources available to accelerate its attempts to address this country's infrastructural deficit. It has increased annual Exchequer capital investment from €2 billion to almost €6.6 billion in 2006. The results of the investment of some €45 billion can be seen in all parts of the country. More than 70 national road projects, comprising over 500 km of road, have been completed since 1997. Service enhancement has doubled DART capacity. The Luas network carries an average of over 65,000 passengers each day. Over 45,000 social housing units were built between 1997 and 2005. Improvements in water, roads and environmental services have facilitated the construction of over 450,000 private houses. In introducing the rolling multi-annual capital envelopes in the 2004 budget the Government committed itself to keeping public capital investment at or close to 5% of GNP, or approximately twice the EU average. Exchequer capital spending, including capital carryover, has averaged 4.7% in the past four years. Exchequer capital investment in 2006 on a pre-budget basis will be 4.6% of GNP, compared with 3.4% of GNP in 1997 and 2.5% of GDP in the 15 established EU member states.

I would like to speak about public private partnerships. The Government's recent decision to establish a centre of expertise in the National Development Finance Agency and concentrate on PPP projects in the education, health and justice sectors, in addition to the transport area, will give impetus to the PPP process. The new arrangements will accelerate progress in developing PPP "deal flow" in the central government area by consolidating the relevant skills and capability for PPP procurement in this area. The Transport 21 proposals include a significant PPP element as part of a total investment package of €33.4 billion between 2006 and 2015. This, like the Minister for Education and Science's recent announcement of 27 new school projects, is a concrete example of the emergence of an increased "deal flow". The Minister for Finance will announce additional provision for investment when he sets out a new capital envelope for the 2006-10 period on budget day.

The sound fiscal and economic policies which have been pursued by the Government have led to increased prosperity and improved quality of life for citizens. The Government's policies have allowed it to fund real improvements in public services and target priority social needs. The 2006 pre-budget Estimates provide for gross expenditure of some €48.5 billion, €42.2 billion of which is current expenditure and €6.3 billion of which is capital expenditure. The overall figure represents an increase of almost €3 billion, or 6.6%, on 2005. Some 70% of the additional €2.7 billion being provided for current spending is being allocated to the key priority areas of health, education and social welfare. The Minister will make additional provision for spending on budget day in the areas of social welfare, child care, care of the elderly and investment. I commend the motion to the House.

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