Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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9. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will report on the forthcoming comprehensive spending review; if that review includes the costing of current and possible future tax expenditures; if all current spending programmes are reviewed, including the input of special studies carried out by officials of the major spending Departments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3279/17]

Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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We had a discussion earlier on the comprehensive spending review, which is, perhaps, the third such review in our recent economic history. The Minister referred earlier to rolling selective reviews. What exactly do such reviews involve? A report from the Department of Social Protection on the free travel scheme that because public recently upset many of our constituents deeply. Is that the type of thing that will be happening under these rolling reviews?

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I outlined earlier the way in which we conduct this work. It is a rolling review because it would not be possible to review all Government expenditure in the level of detail I want within a single year. The amount involved is over €58 billion. Second, we will identify a third of Government expenditure per year. That is why I refer to it as a rolling review. I anticipate that it will take three to three and a half years to complete this work. It differs very much from previous spending reviews in our recent economic history, which the Deputy has referred to, because the objective of those reviews was to reduce the amount of Government expenditure. That is not an explicit or implicit objective of this. Within agreed expenditure ceilings, I am looking to find out if there are better ways for policy objectives that Government Ministers are looking to deliver to be achieved. In that regard, it differs significantly from spending reviews that have been undertaken by the previous Governments.

Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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I am glad to hear that it is not a continuation of previous reviews and aimed at cutting expenditure on vital services, which, unfortunately, the Government has shamefully done since 2011. I mentioned the report in the Department of Social Protection. Are all Departments compiling reports on certain programmes? Does the Minister nominate which programmes he wants to hear back on, such as, for example, the free travel or the school clothing and footwear allowance schemes operated by the Department of Social Protection? Does the Minister decide that and then other Ministers have to have the reports compiled? Who actually makes the decision? How are inflationary pressures taken into account? We have spoken, both at the relevant committee and in this Chamber, about important new measures and innovative services that the Government could put in place. Are the latter built into the rolling review?

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The Ministers, Deputies Varadkar and Ross, have made very clear that there will be no change to the availability of the free travel scheme. The report that gave rise to this debate was one that was put in place many years ago. We did not change that scheme at the very depth of the economic difficulty the country faced and it will not be changed now.

The Deputy asked me how the policy area will be agreed. It will be mutually agreed between me and the Minister leading the other Department. There has not been any dissent to date in terms of selection so we have not had to get to a point of enforcing the selection of a particular policy area. There has been a happy meeting of minds on selection. The Deputy asked about new policies and innovation. We are conducting this review to discover if there are savings that are possible to identify and that will allow new services to be delivered. The Deputy made reference to the fact that expenditure on public services has been reduced. It was reduced in response to the horrific crisis the country faced. We exited a bailout programme and we are increasing public expenditure year on year but we are looking to do it in a way that delivers better public services.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Is the Deputy happy enough with that response?

Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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When the rolling programme for expenditure reviews is being identified, do officials in the Minister's Department look at programmes where there are demographic or other pressures which cause massive increases in spending year on year?

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy put that question to me earlier when he raised the issue of inflation and I did not answer it. That is related to demographics. We will not select a particular area based on the impact that demographics or inflation will have on it. With regard to public services, the growth of inflation has a particular effect on social welfare payments. It is the responsibility of the Government of the day to make a decision on the changing of either social welfare payments or public sector pay. I do not believe it is the right thing to commit to automatic indexation because we have to respect the ability of a Government to make a decision about how to best use taxpayers' money. The area in respect of which demographics is most important is that relating to primary and secondary schools. The expenditure ceilings we have for the coming years take account of that.