Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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Question 229: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if the moneys allocated to his Department in this year's Estimates will be fully and appropriately spent during 2006; if he has identified any allocated moneys which are not needed by his Department; and if so the amount of such moneys. [30235/06]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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The 2006 Estimate for the Department of Foreign Affairs consists of two Votes: €204.346 million for Vote 28 (Foreign Affairs) and €600.479 million for Vote 29 (International Co-operation). Vote 28 includes an allocation to provide for the biometric passport project. This project is on schedule and is expected to be completed within budget. Apart from savings made on this project, it is anticipated that this year's allocations under Vote 28 will be substantially and appropriately spent in 2006. Based on expenditure to date, and having regard to projections to the end of the year, it is anticipated that this year's allocations under Vote 29 will also be substantially and appropriately spent in 2006.

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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Question 230: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism if the moneys allocated to his Department in this year's Estimates will be fully and appropriately spent during 2006; if he has identified any allocated moneys which are not needed by his Department; and if so the amount of such moneys. [30227/06]

John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Fianna Fail)
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The Revised Estimates allocation for my Department for 2006 amounts to €568.186 million, comprising both current and capital allocations, to meet the running costs of the Department, to provide funding to the various agencies, institutions and bodies operating in the arts, sport and tourism sectors and to meet expenditure associated with capital grant schemes and capital projects funded by the Department. At this stage I do not envisage any significant savings on the current allocation, most of which is designated as either grant or grant-in-aid funding for the various bodies under the aegis of my Department. The capital allocation in my Department's Vote for 2006 is provided under the terms of a 5-year Capital Investment Framework agreed annually between my Department and the Department of Finance under which savings of up to 10% of the total annual capital allocation in a current year may be carried forward to the following year, thus ensuring continuity in funding for capital schemes and projects. While underspending on certain subheads is likely to occur this year, I do not anticipate that there will be a significant net overall capital saving on my Department's vote. This is attributable to a combination of the reallocation of these savings to other subheads and the application of the 10% carryover provision. However, it is important to note, in the context of predicting year end results, that traditionally some 50% of the Department's capital spend occurs in the last 3 months of the year.