Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

It is proposed to take Questions Nos. 4 to 7, inclusive, together.

The position is exactly as I outlined to the House on 18 February 2009 in reply to questions on the programme for Government. As its title suggests, the Programme for Government 2007-2012 is a programme of priorities to be delivered over a five-year period. Progress in delivering the programme is kept under review. On 24 September 2008, the Department of the Taoiseach website published statements regarding the progress made by Departments in implementing each of the commitments in the programme for Government.

On questions on this topic in the House on 18 February, I informed Deputy Gilmore, "The programme for Government is also predicated on balanced public finances and clearly, the crisis with which we are now contending means this is a major challenge and the top priority of any Government". With regard to the specific commitments in the programme for Government, I said that "the priorities are being reassessed by Ministers in the context of the budgets now available to them". We are now in the process of preparing for a supplementary budget, and this work is ongoing.

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