Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

On Estimates day in November the Minister for Finance stated that the targets for spending were broadly on course and on budget day, 7 December, he stated that there would be €92 million in unspent balances on current spending, which is a significant jump on the position in previous years. However, by 31 December that figure of €92 million had jumped to an underspend of €564 million on current spending.

There are only two possible explanations for this. Either officials in the Department of Finance cannot add, which I refuse to believe, or an election war chest is being built up so the Minister can distribute largesse during the period before the election. As with the actions of the former Minister, Mr. McCreevy, in the run-up to the 2002 general election, that was good for Fianna Fáil but it was not good for our economy. Given the trolley crisis, the lack of nurses and all that we know about underspending and demands for services, the Minister is telling people that he underspent by €564 million.

I would like the Minister to comment on a further consequence. He stated that the budget increase in spending for this year was approximately 11.9%. Given the adjusted figures which he introduced on 31 December, the estimated increase in spending this year will be approximately 13.8%, which points to a pre-election spending splurge. Will the Minister explain how we makes sense of this chopping and changing with regard to the figures?

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