Michael Noonan (Limerick East, Fine Gael)
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Question 162: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the policy decisions he has made to keep the current expenditure of his Department within the parameters allocated in his Department's budget for 2008; the savings in 2008, and the full year savings of each such initiative; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15559/08]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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Under Vote 28 (Foreign Affairs), most of my Department's expenditure relates to administrative costs. Every effort is made, on an ongoing basis, to ensure that these costs are kept under control and that value for money is obtained for all public expenditure, including through the rigorous application of public procurement procedures. Similar controls are in place in relation to programme expenditure. In certain areas, such as support for the UN peacekeeping, it is not possible to predict exact expenditure in advance but, by using information drawn from a range of sources, the Department can generally anticipate likely requirements, and make the necessary budgetary provision. Under Vote 29 (International Cooperation), every effort is likewise made to keep administrative expenditure to a minimum, in order to release the maximum resources to the front line of the aid programme. I firmly expect, therefore, that the current expenditure of my Department will remain within allocation in 2008.