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The Revised Estimates Volume, REV, for public services was presented to the House last December, with further Revised Estimates presented to the House in February. The Estimates set out the allocation of Government expenditure by Vote for this year, amounting to €66.6 billion, an increase of 5.5% on the outturn in 2018. The vast majority of this, nearly 90%, relates to day-to-day current expenditure. This represents a year-on-year increase of almost 4%. Indeed, combined funding for the key day-to-day public services of the Departments of Health, Education and Skills and Employment Affairs and Social Protection amounts to almost €47 billion in 2019, almost 79% of total expenditure.

Spending on our health service is now at a record level. Including the allocation of capital spending, it now stands at €17 billion. This is an increase of over €1 billion on the amount spent in 2018.

Turning to education I note that this year's allocation amounts to €10.8 billion, an increase of over 5% on the 2018 outturn. This will allow for the recruitment of additional teachers and special needs assistants and enable more targeted investment in higher and further education to meet the skills and education needs of the labour market.

Some €20.5 billion has been allocated to the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection. This allocation includes provision for an increase of €5 per week in the weekly maximum rates of all social welfare payments. Jobseekers on age-related reduced rates of payment will benefit from the full increase.

Other areas of investment include the recruitment of additional gardaí and additional housing supports in the shape of increased funding for the housing assistance payment. Furthermore, additional funding has been provided to the Department of Children and Youth Affairs to facilitate our children and young people in reaching their potential.

A high level of uncertainty still exists in relation to Brexit. It is an event which under any circumstances is unfavourable for the State. That is why we need to be careful with our public finances. We also need to put in place plans like the future growth loan scheme for small and medium-sized enterprises, SMEs, and the agriculture and food sector.

Overall capital expenditure will amount to €7.3 billion this year. This represents an increase of approximately €1.4 billion on last year's outturn. This will play an important role in delivering public infrastructure across Ireland, particularly in areas such as housing, education, healthcare and transport. Additional funding is being provided for enterprise supports to support economic recovery and promote jobs growth. Increased funding is also being provided to support investment in areas such as flood defences and climate change mitigation.

This allocation to capital infrastructure is consistent with the national development plan and Project Ireland 2040, which set out a ten-year investment of approximately €116 billion. As recent events have clearly demonstrated, to protect this investment we must put the right structures in place to deal with capital cost overruns. In light of this, new procedures are now being developed in the context of the ongoing review of the public spending code and the new medium-term strategy of the Office of Government Procurement. The allocation of these resources provides investment to build our economy and support our long-term growth. Passage of these Estimates will allow the House to put in place the funding that we need to maintain current services for our State and provide support to citizens in the areas the House has committed to.

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