Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

82. To ask the Minister for Finance if he envisages the deviation stripping out the one-off Allied Irish Banks widening by end-year and by how much, given that his spending projections imply non-compliance with the expenditure benchmark requirements for 2016 when the bank's transaction in 2015 is disregarded, with the associated overspend amounting to approximately €0.7 billion on the basis of current stability programme update plans and given his record of under-provision for a number of Departments, in particular the Department of Health; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16438/16]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

As the Deputy will be aware, assessment of our compliance with the budgetary provisions of the preventive arm of the Stability and Growth Pact, is conducted with reference to two complementary pillars, namely the expenditure benchmark and our annual improvement in relation to the structural balance. These ensure we are at, or are on the adjustment path towards our medium term objective of a structural deficit of 0.5 per cent of GDP.  

Under the expenditure benchmark one-off developments such as the Allied Irish Banks related transaction are not taken into account when calculating this measure. In relation to the structural balance, the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council's recently published Fiscal Assessment Report states that an over-performance in tax revenue in 2016 could secure compliance with this rule given current expenditure plans.

Separately, my colleague the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Pascal Donoghue T.D. recently announced a proposal to increase the 2016 voted expenditure by €540 million to allow targeted increases to support the delivery of key services in the Health Sector and by An Garda Síochána. As outlined in the April Stability Programme Update, increases of this order can be provided while continuing to deliver against the key fiscal targets.

These extra spending plans will be incorporated into the forthcoming Summer Economic Statement which will be published by my Department later this month. As part of this exercise a full review of all fiscal developments, including tax revenues, will be conducted.