Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

It is a very tricky question. Ministerial expenditure ceilings are decided by the Government within the context of the overall Government expenditure ceiling required to ensure that our fiscal targets are achieved, and have a statutory basis in the Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Act 2013. We legislated for them. The multi-annual voted expenditure ceilings allow for greater transparency in the allocation of resources across Government Departments over a three year horizon and facilitate the work of the Oireachtas in engaging with Ministers and their Departments their spending priorities.

The second comprehensive review of expenditure, CRE, was carried out last year. The objective of it was to provide Government with a set of options to re-align voted spending priorities in order to deliver key public services while continuing to meet our overall fiscal targets. All Departments made detailed submissions to my Department as part of the process. Based on these submissions and analysis carried out by my Department, the Comprehensive Expenditure Report 2015-2017 was published on budget day. It set out the multi-annual expenditure ceilings agreed by the Government for the three year horizon.

I am aware that policy matters in the areas referenced by the Deputy, namely, child care, paternity leave and the minimum wage, are being considered by my colleagues in those areas in the context of their Departments’ missions and goals. Any specific proposals that might arise in these areas would be carefully and thoroughly examined and costed before deciding on their merits. Decisions would take account of the management of expenditure within the ministerial expenditure ceilings and the most up-to-date fiscal and economic advice.

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