Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

Why is there an increase of 10% in the allocation for consultancy services under subhead A7 given that the Minister for Finance announced last July that all expenditure by Departments and agencies on consultancies, advertising and PR was to be reduced significantly for the remainder of this year and by at least 50% in 2009? There are significant increases in the allocations for office machinery and office premises expenses. In respect of what are these increases?

In his announcement on 3 February, the Minister for Finance said all Departments would be required to effect general administrative reductions in their budgets. Where have these occurred in the Taoiseach's Department and to what do they amount? Has there been any reduction in the staffing level in either the constituency or private office of the Taoiseach or the Ministers of State attached to his Department?

The most significant expenditure is on the Moriarty tribunal. The allocation has increased from €4 million to €7.5 million. Is the Taoiseach satisfied this will be sufficient to meet the tribunal's needs given that it appears to be about to embark on another significant round of public hearings? Has there been any communication between the tribunal and the Taoiseach on the likely extent of the resumed hearings? Is there a likely date for the conclusion and publication of the final report? When the Taoiseach last spoke about this on 3 March, he said the total cost up to 31 January 2009 was €34.91 million and that the figure for 2008 was €4 million. The recently published report of the Comptroller and Auditor General states that if one included third-party costs, which are uncertain and to which there is a high degree of contingency attached, the figure could be €100 million. Has there been any recalculation of the total likely cost to the Department?

Has the Taoiseach had an opportunity to observe or read a number of newspaper reports published about two weeks ago, particularly in Sunday newspapers, on an important document in the possession of the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources in respect of which it held legal privilege for almost ten years? It was suggested that because the draft report of the tribunal may have contained some critique of officials in that Department, the document was to be released to the tribunal, granted that it had not already been laid before it confidentially and was not mentioned in public hearings.

Most people in the country are upset by many things that have gone badly in recent years but are further upset by the thought that a document that may have clarified serious matters for the tribunal was just sat on for ten years and is now to be the subject of extensive public hearings. What is the Taoiseach's take on this? What is the likely cost of the extra hearings? The moneys spent on the tribunal tend to dwarf all the other expenditures under the heading pertaining to the Department of the Taoiseach.

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