Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Minister for the information provided. I understood he and members of the Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform agreed that the Estimates for next year should be discussed before the end of this year. He has indicated that the Revised Estimates Volume will be published in February 2012, which means it will probably be discussed after St. Patrick's Day. Estimates used to be published in February because the budget was introduced in January. That is the old approach taken in the Department of Finance. The Minister should inform the Department that the date of the Budget Statement was moved to December a couple of years ago. The only reason for publishing a Revised Estimate after the budget is to provide for budget expenditure not included in the Estimates, which used to be published in advance of the budget. As the Budget Statement and the Estimates are published simultaneously, they should be debated before the end of the year. I ask the Minister to review the matter to ensure the 2012 Estimates will not be discussed after St. Patrick's day.

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