Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

What the Deputy is referring to is the funding that was made available for ELS in the summer economic statement. That is a standard feature of the Estimates process. I would have indicated this when the summer economic statement was published - if not at the recent committee meeting - and certainly on many other occasions.

A standard feature of the Estimates process is that the amount of money that is needed for ELS changes during the Estimates process. Mostly, the ELS figure goes down. I can remember one occasion on which it went up. The reason for that, and how that happens, which I can be very transparent about, is that when I engage with each Department and Minister, the amount of funding they believe is needed for ELS can differ during the Estimates process as we look into what costs will be for the following year and at they new decisions the Ministers involved may want to make. It is very much a standard feature. That figure has moved in either direction over a number of years.

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