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

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

I am pleased to introduce this Bill to the House. It is a critical piece of annual financial legislation that needs to be enacted before the end of the year. The Bill has two primary functions. The first is to provide the legal authorisation for all of the expenditure that has occurred in 2023 on the basis of the Estimates voted on by the Dáil over the course of the year. These are set out in section 1 and Schedule 1. They refer to the Revised Estimates, further Revised Estimates and Supplementary Estimates agreed by the Dáil, which in aggregate amount to €79.9 billion. Last year, in the Appropriation Act 2022, the comparable amount was €75.1 billion. This represents an increase of close to €4.8 billion or 6.4%, and in gross terms, taking into account expenditure on the Social Insurance Fund and the National Training Fund, the total gross voted expenditure for the year was €95.9 billion. This reflects Government's planned and balanced approach to budgetary policy. It looks to provide for the continued improvement of public services, living standards and investment in our schools, hospitals, trains and roads.

The Government has invested in childcare and healthcare.

It has supported our growing population and living standards, particularly at a time of high inflation. It also represents the Government's continued commitment to responding comprehensively to challenges when they arise, such as through the cost-of-living package, supports for people fleeing the war in Ukraine and the legacy impact of the pandemic on our front-line services. Some of these responses were provided through the Supplementary Estimates 2023, which also reflect the Appropriation Bill 2023. The amounts outlined in Schedule 1 of the Bill include the amounts allocated in the Revised Estimates volume for the public service and the significant amount of additional resources made available in 2023 through Supplementary Estimates. While inflation has moderated through the year, it still remains at high levels. The Government and I know that even as inflation falls and energy bills decrease, many are still concerned about rising costs, particularly the challenges of heating and lighting their homes this winter. The Government responded to these pressures through a series of cost-of-living supports totalling €17.5 billion since the start of 2022. Reflected in this are the costs of measures introduced in the spring package and later in the year as part of the winter cost-of-living package announced in budget 2024. The cost-of-living package will provide approximately €2.3 billion in progressive supports for households and businesses, including three €150 energy credits for households and additional social welfare payments. These supports will benefit all homes but will support those on lower incomes the most.

The second critical function of the Appropriation Bill 2023 is to provide a legal basis for expenditure to continue into next year in the period before the Dáil votes on the 2024 Estimates. As set out in the Central Fund (Permanent Provisions) Act 1965, the authority for spending in 2023 prior to the agreement of the 2024 Estimates by the Dáil is based on the amounts enacted in the Appropriation Bill 2023. For this reason, it is essential that the Bill is enacted before the end of this year. Should the Bill not be enacted, there will be no authority to spend any voted moneys in 2024 from the start of January until the approval of the 2024 Estimates.

Dealing with the matter of capital carryover, to account for the complexity faced by Government Departments in planning for major capital projects, the rolling, multi-annual capital envelopes introduced in 2004 allow for the carryover of up to 10% of unspent voted capital expenditure from the current year into the next. This provides for a degree of flexibility needed for the year-on-year planning of how we spend on capital projects. Schedule 2 of the Bill sets out the proposed capital expenditure amounts, which are carried over to 2024 by vote, in aggregate. The capital carryover from 2023 to 2024 will be approximately €530 million, which is approximately 4.2% of the overall gross voted capital allocation of €12.5 billion. The Revised Estimate volume of 2024, due to be published by my Department this week, will include details of the amounts to be deferred, by subhead, for votes, which are availing of the capital carryover function for next year. This carryover will bring the overall amount available to Departments for gross voted capital spending next year to over €13 billion. This will continue the increased investment in capital projects and programmes seen in recent years under the national development plan to provide more schools, homes, beds in hospitals and other pieces of vital infrastructure. The level of expenditure will be pivotal in building on the progress already made in supporting balanced regional development and, most importantly, delivering the necessary infrastructure to support our future climate change obligations.

As in previous years, the Appropriation Bill 2023 also contains a provision for repayable advances from the Central Fund to the Paymaster General's supply account to meet certain Exchequer liabilities due for payment over the first week of January. The provision for these advances is critical as the banking system will be closed on Monday, 1 January. This means it is necessary for funding to be in place in departmental bank accounts before the end of the year in order to meet these liabilities on a timely basis. This Bill also contains a provision to pre-fund certain payments under the Social Welfare Acts between 1 and 6 January 2024, which are made on an agency basis by An Post. The advances provision in the Bill ensures these payments can be transferred from the Department of Social Protection to the network of An Post offices throughout January. Section 3 of the Bill provides for up to €440 million to be advanced from the Central Fund to meet these requirements, which will be repaid to the Central Fund in January next year.

To conclude, this annual Bill is an essential element of the financial housekeeping undertaken by the Dáil each year. The passage of this Bill will authorise into law all of the expenditure that has taken place in the year on the basis of the Estimates voted on by the Dáil over the course of the year and, importantly, it will also provide authority for voted expenditure to continue in the period between the beginning of January and when the Dáil approves the 2024 Estimates. It will ensure continued funding for the delivery of public services including our health services and the payment of social protection schemes. It reflects a planned approach to public spending that aims to build and deliver our economic, social and climate ambitions. I therefore commend the Bill to the House.

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