Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

My Department, in common with every other Department, is engaged in the comprehensive review of expenditure. Budgetary decisions will be made in the context of that review and in the context of the budget for 2012. As I have stated to the Deputy previously and as he will appreciate, I am not in a position to make statements or announcements on budget 2012 or in respect of the comprehensive review, given it is under way at present. However, I point to two issues. The Deputy referred to reductions in respect of certain elements of the household benefits package. One legacy issue from the previous Government relates to certain indicative savings, as I discussed in this Chamber during Question Time previously, pertaining to social welfare which included savings in the household budget scheme. Those commitments related to 2011, but they had not been published. They had not all been identified by the previous Government, but the indicative headings had been.

I have a problem with the second legacy issue arising from the period in office of Fianna Fáil and the Green Party. In its budget plan for this year it made provision for an unemployment job seekers' figure of 405,000, which is way out of line with the actual average figure, 445,000. There are attendant pressures. The decision taken last week was very difficult. However, as I said this morning at the committee meeting, there have been savings; for example, the Department no longer pays for the rental of telephone handsets from Eircom for which it was paying a significant amount of money. A discount has been achieved and the service has not been altered for individuals, but there has been a saving to the Department.

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