Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 116: To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he is satisfied regarding the extent to which waste has been eliminated throughout each Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35402/11]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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As the Deputy will be aware, the Programme for Government made a commitment to conduct a comprehensive review of expenditure (CRE) to examine all areas of public spending and to assess effectiveness of spending programmes and value for money.

The results of the Review process, including a comprehensive set of decision options and an assessment of the cost effectiveness of all expenditure programmes, are now being considered by Government in the context of framing decisions on the Budget and Estimates for 2012 and subsequent years. The high-level outcomes of the CRE along with the multi-annual expenditure ceilings for each Department for 2012-2015 and the Budget Estimates for 2012 will be announced in the first week of December.

In addition, as one element of the Public Service Reform Plan that I am announcing today, my Department is currently undertaking a major review and strengthening of the Value-for-Money (VFM) framework so that it is more effective in facilitating Departments in allocating scarce resources across competing priorities, and eliminating waste and inefficiency. I will be announcing further details of this initiative in the coming weeks.

Overall, the CRE process coupled with the VFM reforms outlined will be instrumental in ensuring, insofar as possible, that the Government gets value for money in all public expenditure.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 117: To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the areas of expenditure that have to date been the subject of the greatest reduction over the past five years; the way this compares with such reductions in the past three years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35403/11]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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I would refer the Deputy to the Functional Classification of Gross Current Expenditure table set out on page 25, of the Revised Estimates Volume 2011 which, was printed in July of this year and replicated as follows.