Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Question 23: To ask the Minister for Finance the impact on his budgetary plans for 2012 of the €90 million cost of the promissory note deal announced last month; and if it will require additional cuts or tax increases above what have already been announced for 2012 or 2013. [19304/12]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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My Department is currently updating its macroeconomic and fiscal assessment for the forthcoming Stability Programme Update (SPU). The SPU will give an update of, amongst other things, the General Government deficit estimate for 2012, taking account of all of the latest available economic and fiscal data, both positive and negative. The SPU will be published at the end of the month. On foot of the Exchequer Returns for the first quarter of the year, I am confident that we will meet our budgetary targets for the year.

The end-March Returns show that taxes have made a good start to the year, performing better than expected in the first quarter and close to 41⁄2 per cent ahead of profile on an underlying basis. While voted expenditure showed some pressures, I am confident that it will be actively managed within agreed limits and I know that the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform will be stressing upon colleagues the importance of adhering to the 2012 spending targets, as was done in 2011. It is worth noting also that the end-March Returns show that Exchequer debt servicing expenditure in the first quarter of the year was €70 million less than profiled.

The Government has repeatedly stated its absolute commitment to adhering to the 8.6 per cent of GDP General Government deficit target for 2012.