Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

With regard to the budget tomorrow, will the Estimates be produced as a separate volume or included in the budget? Will they be the subject of a specific explanatory statement by the Minister for Finance? At what point will they be released to the media? The Opposition will be placed in a difficult position in that we may have virtually no details of the Estimates. In what format will they published? It was custom and practice, given their nature, to give the Opposition two hours advance notice of the Estimates. Even with the pre-budget outlook, this practice continued. What will be the position tomorrow? As is customary, Deputies will receive the text of the Budget Statement when the Minister stands up to speak. What arrangement, if any, is in place for the Estimates?

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