Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Twelve months ago, Ireland successfully exited the EU-IMF programme of financial support. This was achieved after five years of significant expenditure reductions and restraint across all areas of Government.

The expenditure allocations published in the 2014 Revised Estimates Volume required the delivery of an expenditure reduction of €1.6 billion in order to achieve the budget 2014 deficit target of 4.8% of GDP. This target was well within the 5.1% of GDP deficit ceiling under the excessive deficit procedure.

Over the course of 2014, there has been a significant improvement in the economic and fiscal outlook. Economic growth and revenues from tax and PRSI are well ahead of the budget 2014 forecasts, with the deficit for the year now forecast to be well below the 4.8% target. It is in this context, with tax receipts €1.1 billion ahead of forecast, that decisions regarding Supplementary Estimates have been taken.

As signalled earlier in the year, some Supplementary Estimates were required to fund a further round of stimulus investment from the proceeds of the disposal of State assets and also to make additional funding available for infrastructure repair and restoration works associated with winter storms. It has now also been possible to make further funding available for essential public transport capital investment. In total, the Supplementary Estimates have delivered €200 million in additional funds to support essential capital expenditure.

The Supplementary Estimate now being provided to health will ensure effective provision of this key service and allow the health sector to deal with some one-off costs without any impact on services to the public. Some Supplementary Estimates are timing-related, with a shortfall of almost €0.2 billion in appropriations-in-aid now forecast to be received in 2015 rather than 2014.

Given that the improved economic and fiscal background achieved by the Government provided fiscal space to meet additional expenditure, it was important when considering Supplementary Estimates that essential services be protected to the greatest extent possible in the light of the difficult but necessary expenditure reductions we have implemented for a number of years.

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