Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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426. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the way the €310 million of additional expenditure in 2016, as reflected in the expenditure report 2017, to cover the Christmas bonus, school building programme and flood repairs is accounted for under the fiscal rules; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34612/16]

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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427. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if Dáil Éireann will vote on Supplementary Estimates to account for the additional €310 million added to the expenditure baseline to fund the Christmas bonus and increased capital expenditure; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34613/16]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 426 and 427 together.

As the Deputy has indicated, additional expenditure of €310 million was included for 2016 in the Expenditure Report 2017published on Budget day. This amount reflects an additional €200 million of capital funding for necessary repair work to transport infrastructure arising from flood damage at the start of the year and payments for school building works. This was signalled in the Mid-Year Expenditure Report 2016. Separately, a further €110 million is provided for current expenditure. This amount reflects the estimated cost of €220 million relating to a Christmas Bonus for long-term Social Welfare recipients, net of anticipated offsetting year-end savings across a number of Departments. As outlined on pages 28 and 31 in the Expenditure Report 2017, the extent of any required supplementary estimate to make provision for the Christmas bonus and capital expenditure will be determined later in the year in accordance with normal procedures and practice. As the Deputy will be aware, Supplementary Estimates are an important feature of the management of a cash based accounting system, amounting to some €56 billion in 2016. In this context, Supplementary Estimates play an important role in achieving a proper alignment of funding allocations with planned expenditure that is subject to approval by the Dáil.

The additional amounts in 2016 are projected to be aligned with the requirements of the Preventive Arm of the Stability and Growth Pact. Compliance for 2016 will be formally assessed when the Stability Programme Update is submitted to the European Commission in April 2017.