Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

In the Comprehensive Expenditure Report 2012-2014, CER, published in December last year, I set out the various elements of the Government’s new medium-term expenditure framework, MTEF. One key element was the introduction of ministerial expenditure ceilings, which are three year allocations of current expenditure to each Minister and Department. This innovation is intended to put the planning and management of current expenditure onto the same footing as capital expenditure, which has been managed on a multi-annual basis since 2004.

The 2013 ministerial expenditure ceilings were introduced on an administrative basis and now form the basis upon which the detailed 2013 expenditure allocations are being decided by the Government. In keeping with an EU-IMF programme commitment in this regard, the administrative ceilings are to be put on a statutory footing. This will be done in the Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2012, which was published on 28 September. In essence, the Bill provides for the power of the Government to set out an overall ceiling for aggregate current expenditure for each of the following three years and for the aggregate ceilings to be apportioned into ministerial expenditure ceilings on the basis of a proposal from the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. The annual Estimates of expenditure must in turn not exceed the overall limits set out by the Government.

Officials in my Department are in regular communication with line Departments with regard to monitoring current expenditure. Departments and offices report on net current expenditure issues from the Exchequer immediately prior to the end of each month and these figures are monitored against the published expenditure profiles. In addition, officials from my Department meet regularly with these Departments to hold joint financial performance management meetings to monitor financial progress.

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