Written answers

Thursday, 17 December 2009

6:00 pm

Photo of Ruairi QuinnRuairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 65: To ask the Minister for Finance the basis for his forecast of expenditure receipts and balances for the period 2009-14 as set out in the Table 10 of the stability programme update; the principal components of those receipts and balances; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47865/09]

Photo of Brian Lenihan JnrBrian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Expenditure receipts, or Appropriations-in-Aid, are Departmental receipts which, with the approval of the Dáil, may be retained by a Department or Office to offset expenses instead of being paid into the Exchequer Account of the Central Fund. Departmental Balances, included in the figures for 2009 and 2010, are those amounts issued from the Exchequer Account of the Central Fund for Departmental spending in one year which remain unspent at year-end and are carried forward to be used the next year.

The principal components of expenditure receipts and balances, as published in Table 10 of the December 2009 Stability Programme Update, are the Social Insurance Fund (SIF) related Appropriation-in-Aid, the Health Levy and the Pension Levy. The table below shows a percentage breakdown of current Appropriations-in-Aid for 2010. The SIF related Appropriation-in-Aid includes income for 2010 and a drawdown of the accumulated surplus.

2010
SIF related Appropriations-in-Aid55%
Health Levy16%
Pension-Related Deduction*6%
Other Appropriations-in-Aid and Departmental Balances23%
Total100%
* This includes only pension levy receipts which accrue to the Exchequer as appropriations-in-aid. It does not include receipts from Local Authorities, Central Bank, the National Treasury Management Agency or the Oireachtas.

These remain the main components for 2011 to 2014 but the relative percentages vary from year to year.

Photo of Ruairi QuinnRuairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 66: To ask the Minister for Finance the basis for his forecast of non-voted current expenditure for the period 2009-14 as set out in the Table 10 of the stability programme update; the principal components of that expenditure; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47866/09]

Photo of Ruairi QuinnRuairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 67: To ask the Minister for Finance the basis for his forecast of non-tax revenues for the period 2009-14 as set out in the Table 10 of the stability programme update; the principal components of those revenues; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47867/09]

Photo of Ruairi QuinnRuairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 68: To ask the Minister for Finance his forecast of non-voted capital expenditure for the period 2009-14 as set out in the Table 10 of the stability programme update; the principal components of those expenditures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47868/09]

Photo of Ruairi QuinnRuairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 70: To ask the Minister for Finance the basis for his forecast of capital resources for the period 2009-14 as set out in the Table 10 of the stability programme update; the principal components of those resources; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47870/09]

Photo of Brian Lenihan JnrBrian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I propose to take Questions Nos. 66 to 68, inclusive, and 70 together.

Table 10 of the Stability Programme Update – December 2009, published on Budget day, sets out the projections for the 2009-2014 period which underpin the budgetary arithmetic. The underlying economic forecasts that are consistent with these fiscal projections are set out in Table 4 of the Stability Programme Update.

In terms of the key items that make up non-voted (Central Fund) current expenditure, non-voted capital expenditure, non-tax revenue and capital resources, the White Paper on Receipts and Expenditure for the year ending 31 December 2010, gives a detailed breakdown for 2009 and 2010 on a pre-Budget basis of these items. With the exception of non-voted (Central Fund) current expenditure, the estimates included in the White Paper for 2009 and 2010 for non-tax revenue, non-voted capital expenditure and capital resources were unchanged in the Budget. The White Paper is available on www.budget.gov.ie and was published on 5 December last. Non Voted (Central Fund) Current Expenditure

The main item under non-voted (Central Fund) current Expenditure is debt servicing costs. It is estimated that over the forecast period, interest costs on the national debt will amount to approximately 70% on average of the overall Central Fund expenditure as set out in Table 10 of the Stability Programme Update for the years 2010-2014. As already outlined, the White Paper on Receipts and Expenditure for the year ending 31 December 2010 sets out the detailed pre-Budget breakdown of items under this heading for the period 2009 and 2010. With the exception of debt servicing there was no change to these estimates in the Budget. As the post-budget Exchequer Borrowing Requirement was lower than that set out on a pre-budget basis in the White Paper, savings of the order of €200 million on debt interest costs were factored into the budgetary arithmetic. Non-Voted Capital Expenditure

The main item under Non-Voted Capital Expenditure is FEOGA payments. FEOGA payments are short term payments to finance Agriculture CAP expenditure in the final quarter of the year, in particular the Single farm payment. The CAP expenditure is fully funded by the European Union but recoupment is paid in arrears. Therefore FEOGA payments in the final quarter of the year are financed by the Exchequer and recouped from the EU in the following year and recorded as a Capital Resource. Therefore FEOGA is neutral on the Exchequer over time. Capital Resources

The main item under Capital Resources are, as outlined above, FEOGA receipts. The other main components under this heading are other EU receipts, such as Cohesion Fund and ERDF receipts. Non-Tax Revenue

The main components of Non-Tax Revenue are the surplus incomes from the Central Bank and the National Lottery and dividends on shares held by the Minister for Finance in State and other companies. In relation to the 2010 forecast for non-tax revenue, this figure also includes the one-off receipt of €140 million in respect of the winding up of Ulysses securitisation and the transfer to the Exchequer of €1 billion in respect of the Credit Institutions (Financial Support) Scheme 2008.

Aggregate forecasts for each of the headings above, for the years 2011-2014, are set out in Table 10 on page C.20 of Budget 2010. Details of the end-2009 outturn for each of these headings will be published by the Department of Finance on 5 January 2010.

Photo of Ruairi QuinnRuairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 69: To ask the Minister for Finance the basis for his forecast of capital receipts for the period 2009-14 as set out in the Table 10 of the stability programme update; the principal components of those receipts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47869/09]

Photo of Brian Lenihan JnrBrian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Expenditure receipts, or Appropriations-in Aid, are Departmental receipts which, with the approval of the Dail, may be retained by a Department or Office to offset expenses instead of being paid into the Exchequer Account of the Central Fund. The forecast of capital receipts set out in Table 10 is based on figures provided by Departments in respect of their Votes. The bulk of capital receipts forecast for 2010 is accounted for by transfers to the Department of Transport under the Local Government Fund of €429.3 million. There is also a once off figure in 2010 of €50 million in respect of Asset Disposals by the HSE. The remaining €56.7 million is largely in respect of expected EU receipts spread over a number of Departments. Forecasts for future years are indicative and are largely based on the same components, with the exception of the once-off receipts from the HSE.

Comments

No comments

Log in or join to post a public comment.