John Paul Phelan (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State and his officials to the House. The Appropriation Bill is an annual event on the last Friday before the Christmas recess. The House will have an opportunity in the new year to have a longer exchange of views on the items referred to by the Minister of State. The sums of money involved are extraordinary. I recall the remarks made by Senator O'Toole during the debate on the budget when he said that when one refers to €1 billion here and €1 billion there, one is soon talking about serious money.

The sum of €44 billion appropriated in current expenditure is serious money. I heard a reference on the radio to the time when the late Mr. Haughey was Minister for Finance and to an initiative of his at the time. Current expenditure at that time was in the hundreds of millions and we have come a long way in the intervening years. I am interested in the Minister of State's remarks about the delay in setting up the long-stay charges reimbursement scheme. I am pleased provision is included in this year's expenditure for that scheme and that there will be future funding to ensure those who were incorrectly charged are refunded.

I will hold my fire until the House has a fuller discussion in the new year. Senator Quinn on the Order of Business referred to inflation. Both the Minister, Deputy Cowen and the Minister of State, Deputy Parlon, have contributed to the discussions on inflation. The further increase in the monthly rate of inflation announced yesterday is a worrying development. The Opposition will have an opportunity in the new year to have a fuller and more frank discussion on the issue. This side of the House will not cause any difficulty to the Minister of State when putting this Bill through the House today. We will facilitate its early and swift passage through the House.