Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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Question 256: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the total departmental expenditure as a percentage of GDP for each of the years 2006 to 2009, inclusive; her estimate for same for 2011; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29927/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Social protection statistics are reported at EU level based on the ESSPROS methodology. That has much wider coverage than Department of Social Protection (DSP) expenditure, as it includes health expenditure, public service pensions and other significant expenditures. On that basis, Irish social protection expenditure was 18.3% of GDP In 2006, compared to an EU 27 average of 26.7%. By 2008, Irish expenditure had increased to 22.1% of GDP, while the EU average had fallen back to 26.4%.

The most recent year in respect of which EU-wide comparative data are available is 2008. Given the significant increase in social welfare expenditure and the decrease in GDP since 2008, Irish social protection spending, based on the ESSPROS methodology, is likely to have moved much closer to the EU average by 2011.

DSP expenditure as a percentage of GDP for the years 2006-2010 and an estimate for 2011 of same are in the following tabular statement. This shows that expenditure by my Department has risen from less than 8% of GDP in 2006 to over 13% of GDP in 2010 and is expected to be at a broadly similar level in 2011.