Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Question 68: To ask the Minister for Finance the estimate the 2010 year end capital and current balances for voted Departmental spending; his plans to roll these funds over at the discretion of the line Departments, or will these balances be returned to the general fund at end 2010; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41635/10]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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Departmental balances are those amounts issued from the Exchequer Account of the Central Fund to the Supply Account of the Pay Master General for Departmental spending from one year which remain undrawn from the Supply Account at year-end and are carried forward to be used the next year. These amounts are not in addition to agreed allocations as set in the Expenditure Estimates, but are deducted from the Central Fund issues in respect of Departmental expenditure issues for January. As outlined in the Pre Four-Year Plan Information Note on the Economic and Budgetary Outlook 2011-2014, published 4 November, total net voted expenditure in 2010 is anticipated to be some €1⁄2 billion above the level originally estimated for the year. This includes the significant one-off costs associated with the recently announced exit mechanisms from the HSE, along with shortfalls in Departmental receipts, most notably PRSI and health levy receipts, offset to some extent by savings on capital expenditure.

The question of whether and to what extent the Departmental savings on Capital expenditure can be carried over into 2011, using the Capital carryover facilities of the 2004 Finance Act, will be addressed in the context of the 2011 Budget.