Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The purpose of the question is to find out exactly not only when the service plan will be published but the detail it will contain. There is even an acceptance across the floor that the figures announced in the Budget Statement are not sustainable. A fanciful budget was again presented to the House in terms of the proposed €666 million in cuts. The Minister stated at the Oireachtas committee hearings that he felt they would be hard to achieve. We have a farcical situation where a budget was presented to the Parliament and the Minister is retrospectively verifying the figures. He refers to having the facts and figures available to him on a monthly basis while at the same time we find he has washed its hands of the budget in the context of the Estimates for 2014, which were presented to the House on 15 October. Will the Minister explain what will be in the service plan and whether the detail will be sustainable?

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