Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the revised procedures he is putting in place for the 2013 estimates; if he intends that they would be referred to Oireachtas committees in advance; if details of proposed expenditure measures have been submitted to the EU/IMF and the European Commission; if he plans to maintain the confidentiality of these until such time as they are presented to the Oireachtas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43401/12]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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The Comprehensive Expenditure Report 2012-2014, published in December 2011, introduced a range of reforms to the processes for settling the annual Estimates of expenditure. In particular I introduced a Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), with fixed multi-annual current expenditure ceilings clearly set out for each Ministerial Vote Group. The expenditure ceilings introduce greater certainty into medium-term expenditure planning. To underpin the Medium Term Expenditure Framework the Government published the Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2012 on 28th September 2012.

This Bill puts the Ministerial expenditure ceilings on a statutory footing. I look forward to discussing and debating this measure before the House in coming weeks.

The Comprehensive Expenditure Report also provided for a new “whole-of-year” budgetary process, whereby the 2013 Ministerial expenditure allocations would be open for scrutiny and discussion before the relevant Oireachtas Committees, well in advance of the detailed Estimates allocations being settled this autumn. Indeed I wrote to the Chairperson of all relevant committees in January of this year, inviting them to avail of this opportunity for ex-ante engagement. I understand that the practical issues involved are currently being considered by the various committees.

As regards the 2013 Estimates themselves, these are still under consideration by the Government. Once finalised by the Government in due course, the Estimates will be presented to the Dail in the normal way. While discussions take place around broad policy options with the EU/IMF programme partners, the question of maintaining confidentiality in regard to the detailed Estimates decisions does not arise in this context.