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

I thank the Deputy for raising an important issue for me. Expenditure profiles for 2024 were completed by all Votes in February and submitted to my Department. Performance against these profiles is used in-year to monitor the expenditure position and details are published monthly in the Fiscal Monitor.

At the end of the second quarter of 2024, gross voted expenditure stood at €47.1 billion. This demonstrates the significant investment the Government continues to provide across the public service to protect living standards, improve public services and safeguard our future through enhanced capital investment. This level of spending is 3.3% above projections for this period. While the majority of Vote groups remain at or near profile, the figures demonstrate a number of developing risks that require continued expenditure management across the remainder of the year.

Among the areas showing the most significant deviations from profile is health, which at the end of June was overspent against profile by €1 billion, or 9.7% up on where we expected to be. This is the main driving factor behind the overall overspend position and there continues to be ongoing engagement between my Department and the Department of Health in this regard. Other areas where there are significant variations from profile at the end of June are education; children, equality, disability, integration and youth; and housing. Part of this reflects increased capital spending, with the end June position reflecting the better than expected delivery on social housing and school buildings in the year to date.

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