Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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111. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the extent to which he remains satisfied that spending across all Departments remains in line with projections, while retaining the capability of responding to emergencies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56381/22]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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245. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he remains satisfied that levels of public expenditure in Ireland are adequately proofed to ensure the best outcome for the Exchequer and the taxpayer; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56677/22]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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These questions seek to ascertain the extent to which the Minister remains satisfied that spending across all Departments remains in line with projections but, at the same time, we retain the capability of responding to emergencies that may arise.

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Nos. 11 and 245 together.

Total gross voted expenditure to the end of October amounted to €66.531 billion, which is €80 million, or 0.1%, below profile overall. Gross voted current expenditure of €61.055 billion is €1.262 billion, or 2.1%, ahead of profile. Gross voted capital expenditure of €5.476 billion is €1.342 billion, or almost 20%, below profile. There have been a number of developments this year which have an impact on the level of current expenditure. These include the extension of the Building Momentum pay agreement, the response to the cost-of-living crisis, the humanitarian response to the war in Ukraine and the ongoing recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The position of the gross voted current expenditure in some of the major spending Departments is as follows. The Department of Social Protection is ahead of profile by €517 million. The position is mostly reflective of the payment of some of the cost-of-living measures in October, which were announced as part of the budget in late September but not included in the 2022 profile. Gross current expenditure in the Department of Health is €581 million ahead of profile. This is largely due to higher Covid-19 related expenditure than anticipated, due to the Omicron wave and the pandemic recognition payment. Gross current expenditure in the Department of Education is €168 million ahead of profile, mostly due to increased costs associated with the substitutions and payments of Covid-19 supports to schools for term three, as well as increased escort payments for school transport.

I can go through all the different Departments. We already had a discussion on capital expenditure but if the Deputy has a particular question, I will do my best to answer it.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for his detailed reply. I have a general question. The Minister is fully conversant with the situation but there may be emergencies this year, such as floods, storms, coastal erosion and any number of issues that may arise. I assure him that the House will support all measures required in emergencies, whatever they may be and whatever their nature.

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I reassure the Deputy and the House that we will always provide the resources necessary to respond to emergencies. Be it a flooding event or any other major humanitarian issue that arises, we will always step in and provide the necessary support. In adopting budget 2023 we have a strong fiscal framework and we are projecting a significant surplus next year. As the Deputy knows, we are in a position to put €6 billion into a national reserve between now and the end of next year.

While there are undoubtedly global economic headwinds that will have an impact on Ireland, we are coming into this period in a position of strength.

We have the public finances in a healthy state, which gives us the capacity to respond across next year to the type of scenarios that the Deputy outlined and indeed others that may arise in an unforeseen way.