Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)

Final Dáil approval is being sought for a series of Supplementary Estimates proposing net additional voted expenditure of €291.207 million in 2009. Nine of these Estimates were originally introduced into the House on 25 November. A subsequent technical Supplementary Estimate for the Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs was moved on 1 December. All of these Supplementary Estimates have since been fully debated by the relevant committees. The majority of this additional expenditure relates to the justice group and the Health Service Executive and arises primarily from the higher than expected number of Garda retirements and a shortfall in health levy receipts coupled with other pressures in the health area.

Supplementary Estimates totalling €69.2 million have already been approved this year in respect of Vote 7 - superannuation and retired allowances - arising from additional costs associated with the incentivised scheme for early retirement; Vote 14 - the Director of Public Prosecution - for fees to counsel; and Vote 12 - the Secret Service. As a result, total Supplementary Estimates for 2009 amount to some €360.407 million, or just over 0.76% of total net voted expenditure outlined in the Revised Estimates Volume for 2009.

Each of the Departments requesting funding has, however, made efforts to achieve offsetting savings. In fact, the majority of the Supplementary Estimates before the House are technical in nature and do not involve additional moneys being transferred to Departments, but rather allow them to use these savings to balance pressures elsewhere in the Vote. Where additional moneys are required, they arise from exceptional circumstances which were unforeseen at the time the original expenditure allocations were voted upon by the House. While the members of the individual committees may already be aware of the reasons behind the Supplementary Estimates in their respective areas, I will take this opportunity to outline the proposed Supplementary Estimates to the House somewhat greater detail.

My colleague, the Minister for Health and Children, gave details of the Supplementary Estimate for Health to the Select Committee on Health and Children on 2 December last. A net Supplementary Estimate of €254 million for Vote 40 - the Health Service Executive - is being provided to fund the 2009 costs of €55 million arising from the swine flu pandemic; €73 million for increased superannuation costs; €70 million for pressures on demand-led schemes and to meet the costs of hospital services; and a net shortfall in receipts of €83 million. Notwithstanding the serious difficulties facing the public finances, the Government is committed to providing the necessary additional resources to prevent the spread of the H1N1 virus.

There has been a higher than anticipated level of retirements this year due to a higher number than usual of employees with sufficient service retiring, even if they have not reached the compulsory retirement age. Payments in respect of these retirements have to be met this year.

The shortfall in receipts largely arises in respect of the health levy with a shortfall of €102 million, due to the unemployment trend. This is partially offset an increase of €37 million in respect of UK migrants.

An additional €25 million capital is also being provided to fund priority mental health projects. The funding is to help meet costs incurred for the commencement of the modernisation of mental health infrastructure in line with A Vision For Change.

The technical Supplementary Estimate in respect of the Vote 41 - Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs - is necessary to allow payments to take place under the new early childhood care and education scheme in this year's supplementary budget. The scheme comes into effect on 1 January and will provide free preschool education for young children.

As already indicated by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, the main driver of the increase relating to the justice Vote group is Garda retirements, which are overrunning by some €35 million in the current year. Vote 20 - Garda Síochána - had funding to cater for approximately 400 retirements, which was deemed realistic given that the number of gardaí who retired in 2008 was 258. The actual number of gardaí who have retired to date is in the region of 800, or twice that estimated in the original allocation. I understand from my colleague, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law reform, that the reason for this dramatic increase appears to relate mainly to personal financial circumstances. Another contributing factor was the raising, in 2006, of the compulsory retirement age for members up to and including inspector rank from 57 to 60 years of age. This is now beginning to have an impact.

I reiterate what the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform said in his address to the relevant committee. While the amount sought in additional Exchequer funding is €15 million, the balance of the additional cost of these retirements is to be funded in this Supplementary Estimate through the use of surplus receipts and the reallocation of savings in other areas from within the justice group.

The technical Supplementary Estimate required for the Vote 19 - Justice, Equality and Law Reform - in order to bring the €12 million in surplus receipts above the line to meet overruns in the demand-led areas of criminal legal aid, the Irish naturalisation and immigration service and asylum accommodation.

The technical Supplementary Estimate is required for Vote 22, the Courts Service, to meet the increased day to day running costs of the Courts Service, including translation, interpretation and stenograph expenditure. While the Supplementary Estimate will result in an additional €6.8 million in surplus receipts being brought above the line, only €3.8 million of these surplus receipts will be used to meet the overrun on the courts Vote. The remaining €3 million is being used to offset in part the cost to the Exchequer of the increased level of Garda retirements.

The Department of Defence requires a Supplementary Estimate of €7.2 million for Vote 37, Army pensions. This amount is needed as the number of personnel leaving the Defence Forces and qualifying for a gratuity and pension is higher than had been anticipated when compiling the original Estimate. This trend is expected to continue to the end of the year requiring this additional allocation.

A shortfall of €1.3 million is projected for appropriations-in-aid. This arises from a requirement to refund pension contributions over-deducted from post-2004 enlisted personnel. Expected savings of €1.3 million will fund this shortfall. Regarding the technical Supplementary Estimate for the Department of Agricultural, Fisheries and Food, the principal measure is in the area of on-farm investments and the allocation of an additional €70 million to meet commitments under the farm waste management scheme. The additional funding is being provided from savings in the Vote and additional appropriations-in-aid.

The technical Supplementary Estimate for the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment is required to enable payments from the temporary employment support scheme subhead in 2010 as it is a new service. For the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, a technical Supplementary Estimate provides an additional amount of €2.38 million arising from a reconciliation exercise in respect of the receipts from the television licence fee and grants-in-aid paid to RTE, which found an imbalance dating back to 2000. Television licence fee receipts are legally ring-fenced for public service broadcasting. This additional payment will be met from savings within the Vote. The grant-in-aid nature of the subhead means that a technical Supplementary Estimate is required in line with procedures laid down under public finance procedures.

An additional €500,000 is required as a result of an increase in receipts for the petroleum infrastructure programme fund arising from an amendment to a frontier exploration licence. Each company holding a frontier exploration licence is required to pay an annual subscription to the petroleum infrastructure programme fund, which is directed at funding offshore exploration related research. These subscriptions are received in the Vote of the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources as appropriations-in-aid and paid to the petroleum infrastructure programme fund from subhead E1. Under the amended terms of the frontier exploration licence, the Department has secured an additional €7.5 million over four years for the petroleum infrastructure programme fund, of which €500,000 is payable in 2009. A technical Supplementary Estimate is required in 2009 to facilitate the payment out of these additional funds to the petroleum infrastructure programme fund.

The Department of Community Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, under Vote 27, requested sanction for the virement of savings on certain subheads to meet a projected overspend of €1.3 million on the advanced Irish language skills subhead. As the projected additional expenditure would increase the original allocation in the subhead by approximately 137%, it is deemed prudent to proceed by way of a technical Supplementary Estimate. Savings that emerged under the rural social scheme, €1 million, and the Ciste na Gaeilge allocation, €300,000, are being used to fund the required additional amount of €1.3 million.

While Departments use savings achieved elsewhere to offset expenditure overruns where possible, the circumstances leading to the Supplementary Estimates before the House today could not have been foreseen during the framing of the 2009 expenditure allocations. They are necessary for the continued smooth running of public services and when coupled with savings on other Votes there should be no overall addition to total net voted expenditure outlined in the Revised Estimates volume for 2009. I commend the Supplementary Estimates to the House.

See this speech in context