Peter Mathews (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 114: To ask the Minister for Finance if he will provide the Exchequer deficit and the general Government deficit each year from 2007 to 2011, excluding the costs of the bank bailout; the amount of fiscal consolidation implemented in each of these years; the amount of this fiscal consolidation that comprised of increases in taxation and the amount that was comprised of cuts in expenditure; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32930/11]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The Exchequer and General Government balances for each of the years 2007-2010 as well as the latest estimates for 2011, on both a headline and underlying that is excluding banking related expenditure basis are shown in the following table.

The headline and underlying Exchequer and General Government balances for the years 2007 and 2008 were the same. For the purposes of compiling the figures in the table, the 2009 underlying Exchequer and General Government balances exclude the €4 billion capital injection into Anglo Irish Bank. The 2010 underlying Exchequer balance figure excludes the €625 million payment to EBS and the €100 million payment to INBS. As well as excluding these payments, the 2010 underlying General Government balance also excludes the €30.85 billion in Promissory Note payments to Anglo Irish Bank, EBS and INBS and the €561 million in accrued interest on those Notes which worsened the General Government balance in that year. The 2011 underlying Exchequer balance figure excludes the €7.6 billion in banking payments related to July's recapitalisation of the banking sector. The estimate of the 2011 General Government balance is based on this year's banking recapitalisation payments being classified as financial transactions which means they are not counted as part of the General Government balance measure. This provisional classification will continue to be assessed in the coming months in light of ongoing discussions between the Department of Finance, the CSO and Eurostat.

The budgetary consolidation process began in July 2008. Measures designed to save/yield €1 billion in a full year were implemented in July 2008 with all of those measures being implemented on the expenditure side of the account. Budget 2009 in October 2008 implemented a budgetary adjustment package of revenue raising measures designed to yield €2 billion in a full year. In February 2009, further budgetary consolidation measures were implemented. The package comprising reductions in expenditure was designed to save €2.1 billion in a full year.

The April 2009 Supplementary Budget implemented an adjustment package of measures designed to yield/save €5.4 billion. Revenue measures with a full year yield estimated at €3.6 billion and expenditure measures with estimated full-year savings of some €1.8 billion were introduced. Budget 2010 in December 2009 implemented a set of measures designed to yield some €4.3 billion in a full year, with virtually all of that adjustment being expenditure related. Revenue measures designed to yield €0.1 billion in a full year formed a minor part of the overall adjustment. Budget 2011 in December 2010 implemented a set of measures designed to yield €6 billion this year, comprising €3.9 billion in expenditure adjustments, €1.4 billion in revenue adjustments and a further €0.7 billion in other/once-off measures. Revenues from some of these other/once-off measures are now unlikely to be realised in 2011.