Written answers
Thursday, 17 December 2009
Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs
Departmental Expenditure
6:00 pm
Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Question 230: To ask the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the breakdown of the changes that will be made to programmes overseen by his Department in order to achieve the savings set out for his Department in budget 2010; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47891/09]
Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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In the 2010 Budget, the Government decided, as part of its strategy to manage its way through the current severe economic crisis and to return the country to prosperity, to reduce spending on public services by almost €1 billion in 2010 compared with the pre-Budget estimates. To the greatest extent possible, the savings have been sought through efficiencies rather than through reductions in services.
In the case of my own Department, gross funding at €415.426m in 2010 is a reduction of 13% relative to the 2009 allocation of €475.701m. Current funding is reduced by 9%, a decrease of €32.1m, and capital funding is reduced by 21%, a decrease of €28.175m. The breakdown of these reductions is provided in the recently published Budget Estimates volume. However, for the Deputy's convenience, the following table shows the breakdown by Programme Area of my Department.
| Programme Area | 2009 Estimate | 2010 Estimate | % Change |
| Developing Communities | 163,316 | 140,908 | -14% |
| Tackling Problem Drug Use | 40,611 | 36,200 | -11% |
| Rural Development | 102,422 | 101,627 | -1% |
| Gaeltacht & Islands Development | 85,918 | 62,501 | -27% |
| Promotion of the Irish Language | 9,375 | 6,591 | -30% |
| North –South Co-operation | 55,102 | 52,990 | -4% |
In a joint statement with the Minister of State at my Department, Mr John Curran, T.D., on Budget Day, we stressed that our primary concern is to make every effort to ensure that the daily front-line services provided with funding from my Department are protected, especially those focused on the needs of the most socially deprived communities. Every saving that can be made from cutting down on overheads will be pursued so that the entire range of urban, rural, Gaeltacht and island communities we serve retain, to the greatest extent possible, the services that have been developed in partnership with them over the years. Details of the breakdown under the various subheads will not be available until the publication of the REV in the early part of 2010.
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