Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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183. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if his spending commitment of €6.75 billion includes some expenditure already committed and included in the projections in the stability programme update 2016 or if it is additional to existing commitments. [16431/16]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The Programme for a Partnership Government sets out a commitment to spend in aggregate at least €6.75 billion more on public services in 2021 than this year.

The fiscal forecasts in the Stability Programme Update for the period 2017 to 2021 were set out on a technical, no-policy change basis, consistent with the approach adopted in the Budget 2016 book published by the Department of Finance in October last year. These forecasts include an additional €2.6 billion for increases in voted current expenditure to accommodate certain of the key non-discretionary drivers of expenditure including: projected expenditure pressures in Health, Education and Social Protection arising from demographics; and the projected carry over impact of certain Budget 2016 measures including additional pay costs arising under the Lansdowne Road Agreement. This planned expenditure is encompassed within the commitment referred to in the Deputy's question.