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

This is the Appropriation Bill for 2024. It is very much a technical Bill. It is worth emphasising that before this legislation gets to the Oireachtas, all the different Estimates that constitute the very large amount of money provided for in this Bill have been debated by the relevant Oireachtas committees. All of the different provisions in relation to the availability of money have already received scrutiny at Oireachtas committee level. In relation to the Bill itself, it provides for the budgetary framework. It has within it provision for an amount of nearly €86.5 billion in net terms. This represents the ongoing investment in our public services through the efforts we make to plan and implement our budget policy. It contains the funding needed from a capital perspective to allow us to build more homes and schools, and to deliver the transport and water systems needed and other important parts of vital infrastructure. From a current perspective, it contains the funding needed to deliver improvements in our social welfare system for a wide variety of people on different income supports as well as additional targeted supports for families and people on illness, disability and carer programmes and the change of €12 in core weekly social welfare rates. Investment in our health service is also provided. This investment plays a critical role in improving our ability to recover from important health conditions and funds the activity needed to lead to an improvement in the number of people on waiting lists. It contains funding for schools, the delivery of homes and additional apprenticeship schemes, the funding to support our national childcare scheme and the funding needed to deliver the pay increases that form part of the public service agreement between 2024 and 2026. We have seen a gradual lessening of the impact inflation is having on living standards. However, we know prices are still very high for many. That is why there is further support provided to households and families in cost-of-living measures. These measures are included in the Appropriation Bill.

The second key function of the Bill is to provide a legal basis for public spending to continue into 2025. The enactment of this Bill before the end of December provides the authority for spending in January 2025 until approval of the 2025 Estimates by the Dáil. This authority as contained in the Central Fund (Permanent Provisions) Act 1965 is based on the amounts provided for in the Appropriation Bill 2024 in front of us now. This ensures payment can be made at the start of the year in respect of social welfare payments, pay for important public services as well as supports needed for children and childcare.

From a capital perspective, under the rolling multiannual capital envelopes introduced nearly 20 years ago, Departments may carry certain unspent capital funding over from the current year to the following year up to a maximum of 10% of the voted capital allocation. This Bill provides for a capital carryover from 2024 into 2025. The current value of that is €207 million. This represents 1.6% of the total Exchequer capital programme of €13 billion for 2024. The Appropriation Bill also includes a provision to advance funding from the Central Fund to the Paymaster General's supply account to facilitate payments due in the initial days of January next year.This provision ensures that the funds are in place for salary, pension and social welfare payments at the start of the year without creating an overdraft on the supply account.

Section 3 provides for up to €900 million to be advanced, with this then being repaid to the Central Fund next January. This provision arises as certain Exchequer liabilities and social welfare payments are due for payment by electronic funds transferred in the initial days of January 2025. With the banking system closed on 1 January, funding will need to be in place in departmental bank accounts before the end of this year to meet these liabilities in a timely way. In addition, An Post needs to be prefunded before the end of the year in order that it can distribute funds to its network of post offices throughout the country in respect of social welfare payments it makes on an agency basis. These Exchequer liabilities form part of the supply services for 2025 and these costs will come under moneys voted in 2025, in respect of which the usual processes and mechanisms for voted moneys will apply.

This Bill is an essential element of the financial housekeeping that Members of both Houses of the Oireachtas are required to undertake. It will authorise in law all the expenditure in 2024 on the basis of the Estimates passed by the Dáil during the year. It will ensure that the payments funded through voted expenditure will continue to be made in the period between the beginning of January 2025 and when the Dáil approves the Estimates in 2025. I commend the Bill to the House.