Results 30,001-30,020 of 33,280 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Stability Programme Update: Ministers for Finance, and Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (26 Apr 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: It is just worth emphasising that the planned core expenditure growth for the year is 5.9% so, looking at the figures we announced on budget day, it was planned growth of 5.9%. It is important to say that because it puts into context the scope of change versus the expenditure rule we had before the decision was made.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Stability Programme Update: Ministers for Finance, and Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (26 Apr 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: To answer the Deputy's question about the €700 million, it is €500 million in Covid, mainly health, supports and €200 million for the national recovery and resilience plan, NRRP. There is no provision in it, obviously, for Ukraine, and the reason for that is that those non-core reserves were set before the outbreak of the war.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Stability Programme Update: Ministers for Finance, and Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (26 Apr 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: Yes, there was, and I will give the Deputy the breakdown.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Stability Programme Update: Ministers for Finance, and Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (26 Apr 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: Because this is done on a no-policy-change basis. The Minister for Finance has not yet made the decision on the overall expenditure ceiling, and we have some work to do before we get to that point. The Government, only prior to the SPU, had determined a non-core figure for 2023, and the non-core figure for 2023 of that €5.2 billion includes €1.6 billion for Ukraine and...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Stability Programme Update: Ministers for Finance, and Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (26 Apr 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: I am just trying to finish answering the Deputy's question.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Stability Programme Update: Ministers for Finance, and Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (26 Apr 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: I was just concluding. We want to be clear and have a better understanding of the number of people who will be moving into our country next year. I think a few more months of data, as the Minister, Deputy McGrath, said just a moment ago, will help us in doing that.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Stability Programme Update: Ministers for Finance, and Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (26 Apr 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: Just in case there is-----

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Stability Programme Update: Ministers for Finance, and Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (26 Apr 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: -----any inference in the Deputy's question that we were not going to do this-----

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Stability Programme Update: Ministers for Finance, and Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (26 Apr 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: -----I will remind the Deputy of what he already knows, which is that this is done on a no-policy-change basis.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Stability Programme Update: Ministers for Finance, and Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (26 Apr 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: I will get those figures for the Deputy now and come back to him on them.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Stability Programme Update: Ministers for Finance, and Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (26 Apr 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: Out of the €4.3 billion of expenditure growth that is anticipated in 2024, approximately €2.5 billion of that is based on ELS.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Stability Programme Update: Ministers for Finance, and Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (26 Apr 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: Managing spending demands in the context of a surplus, and putting in place public spending plans for next year that can help the vulnerable and at the same time avoid contributing to our economy overheating-----

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Stability Programme Update: Ministers for Finance, and Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (26 Apr 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: I would like to make a few points about what Deputy Boyd Barrett said. I agree with every word the Minister, Deputy McGrath, just said. Capital expenditure is also recurring. I have noticed a new concept of non-recurring capital expenditure come in over last the week. I have rarely come across examples in which you can decrease capital expenditure easily. It is important to keep in mind...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Stability Programme Update: Ministers for Finance, and Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (26 Apr 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: If the Deputy bears with me for one moment, I will give him the figures he is looking for. We are in the process of progressing the first payment request for it which is to the value of €395 million out of a total sum of €915 million. To the best of my knowledge - I will be corrected if I am wrong as the meeting goes on - funding has not actually been received but the...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Stability Programme Update: Ministers for Finance, and Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (26 Apr 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Deputy for all his questions. I will make just three points in response. The way in which the stability programme update is framed is such that it makes no new policy decisions. If policy decisions were made in the document in front of the Deputy, it would, particularly from my point of view, result in mass negotiation with other Departments that want to secure a claim to...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Stability Programme Update: Ministers for Finance, and Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (26 Apr 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: We would have to consider the level of enlightenment then.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Stability Programme Update: Ministers for Finance, and Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (26 Apr 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Deputy for his points. I will just deal with the expenditure matters he covered and the Minister for Finance will address some of the broader economic issues he touched on. From a spending point of view, the Government agreed to a number of proposals I brought to Cabinet a few weeks ago trying to make progress on some of the matters he referred to. In particular, we have...

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Stability Programme Update: Ministers for Finance, and Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (26 Apr 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: I will leave it at that. I will take the Deputy's point points on board. We have made a number of changes in procurement and in particular to the public spending code to try to deal with the matters he raised. I can conclude my comments at that.

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Stability Programme Update: Ministers for Finance, and Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (26 Apr 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Deputy. As the definition of "core spending" is the day-to-day spending that we expect to continue into the future, existing level of spending, ELS, is part of core spending. It is the part of our spending we can be most certain will recur into the future. That ELS figure is part of the definition of "core spending".

Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Stability Programme Update: Ministers for Finance, and Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (26 Apr 2023)

Paschal Donohoe: That is the case. As we prepare for the summer economic statement, we must be aware that there may be spillover consequences of decisions the Government made last year. Decisions the Government has made this year will spill over into next year. That may further reduce that so-called discretionary figure. The key point the Deputy is making is that a large share of that funding is already...