Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 127: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if she has issued instructions throughout her Department to introduce economies, notwithstanding the public perception that no financial cutbacks are applicable to her Department arising from budget 2009; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39569/08]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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While the 2009 Estimates for the Department published on 14th October show a substantial increase over the 2008 estimates, they also include some measures to reduce expenditure. These measures have been kept to the absolute minimum and applied in a careful manner. In addition, the administrative budget provision for 2009 has been reduced by €4.3m.

The Department is committed to achieving economy, efficiency and effectiveness in all its activities. In framing the estimates requirement for 2009, every effort was made to ensure that economies were achieved wherever possible and the situation will be kept under review during the course of the year.