Written answers

Tuesday, 19 January 2010

Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs

Departmental Expenditure

9:00 pm

Photo of Richard BrutonRichard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 702: To ask the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the savings outlined in the Report of the Special Group on Public Numbers and Expenditure Programmes which were accepted in budget 2010 for his Department in tabular form; the savings which will be achieved in 2010; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1252/10]

Photo of Éamon Ó CuívÉamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy will be aware, the recommendations in the Report of the Special Group on Public Service Numbers and Expenditure Programmes represented a set of options that were given appropriate consideration by Government in the context of 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 table shows the breakdown by Programme Area of my Department.

Programme Area2009 Estimate2010 Estimate% Change
Developing Communities163,316140,908-14%
Tackling Problem Drug Use40,61136,200-11%
Rural Development102,422101,627-1%
Gaeltacht & Islands Development85,91862,501-27%
Promotion of the Irish Language9,3756,591-30%
North/South Co-operation55,10252,990-4%

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 2010 Revised Estimates Volume in due course.

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