Dáil debates

Tuesday, 28 February 2006

3:00 pm

Photo of Brian CowenBrian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

If there is any chopping and changing, I have just heard it from the Deputy. On the one hand she accuses me of underspending in one year and, on the other, she tells me I am spending too much in the next year. The bottom line is that last year the total Exchequer spend was €35.467 billion. There was an underspend of €225 million, when all the headings are taken into account, as well as a €300 million increase in receipts. Therefore, there was not a €564 million underspend.

The issue with regard to the final Exchequer balance at the end of the year, as I explained in the main body of my reply, is that the variations between spending costs and outturn depend on the final take-up of demand-led schemes, the timing of bills received by suppliers and contractors and the level of receipts, which are reflected in net expenditure and which cannot be predicted with certainty. The basis of the end of October figures for the Estimates requires the following two months data to finalise the figures for any given financial year.

I emphasise that the level of spend is such, at almost €35.5 billion, that the variation is quite small as a percentage of overall spend. It is based on calculating the balances at the end of the year and depends on what cheques have issued and what bills have been paid before 31 December, all of which must be finalised.

Total gross expenditure by the Department was approximately €45.1 billion last year, which is an increase of 9.5%. The allocations for health and other areas represented record increases, including an increase of 10% for health. All the changes we have seen with regard to the HSE and otherwise have ensured that we are in the business of transforming and transitioning health expenditure from the health boards to the HSE.

The total spend is as I have indicated. It is not made on the basis of building up war chests or any other conspiracy theory. It is simply a matter of explaining the spend at the end of the year, as was done in other years, and making sure that we go forward to meet the requirements of the situation and implement the spending we envisage for this year, which will be in the priority areas of health, education and social welfare, which received record increases. I defend that spending. If the Labour Party believes we spent too little last year and are spending too much this year, we will have to wait to hear what the spinning top will say at the end of this year to know what its view is at that time.

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