Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

The programme for Government stands. It is predicated on the assumptions I outlined. We have indicated they will have to prioritised in view of the fact the resources of the State are not what one would have expected.

With regard to priorities from year to year, I refer the Deputy to the departmental Estimates of the Ministers which set out the activity they envisage during the course of this year based on the allocations available to them. As a result of the reforms introduced in the budgetary process — I speak as a former Minister for Finance — they will also have annual output statements which indicate to them what they expect to get for the money that has been allocated and the outcomes at the end of the year. They are also answerable to the various committees as to whether certain targets were exceeded or certain expenditures not spent, and the reasons for that. We have in our budgetary reform process the means by which Members of the House can examine these issues with Ministers through the committee system based on the departmental Estimates they put forward.

See this speech in context