Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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771. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the detailed breakdown of all expenditure for 2016, in tabular form, against the detailed allocations in the Revised Estimates volume for 2016; the reason for the underspend for each heading in which this occurred; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1032/17]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Work is continuing on finalising the 2016 expenditure figures for my Department and adjustments continue to be made in relation to individual financial transactions to ensure that expenditure is accounted for in accordance with Government accounting policies, principles and procedures. As in previous years, this annual process will take a number of weeks to complete.

In the meantime, I can advise the Deputy that my Department's total gross allocation for 2016 was €382.649 million. Whilst it is still too early in the year to provide final expenditure figures on a detailed subhead by subhead basis for the reasons I set out above, I can advise that provisional figures indicate that total gross expenditure at 31 December 2016 amounted to €362.185 million. In addition, the capital carryover of €6.158 million from 2015 was expended in full.

When provision is made for the carry over by way of deferred surrender to 2017 of €13.548 million, and account is taken of expenditure which could not be incurred under Programme E of my Department’s Vote because of the non-receipt of corresponding Appropriations-in-Aid, it is anticipated that the remaining balance will amount to some €425,000 in administration budget efficiencies and some €600,000 in programme savings. The programme savings largely relate to capital savings on commemoration projects that did not proceed as promptly as anticipated. This anticipated surplus figure underlines my Department's ongoing commitment to ensuring that the maximum value possible is derived from its budget allocations.

A further €1.7 million in respect of surplus Appropriations-in-Aid in other programme areas will also fall to be surrendered. Public Financial Procedures provide that any surplus Appropriations-in-Aid that may arise cannot be used to fund expenditure and must be surrendered to the Exchequer, unless the prior approval of the Dáil has been obtained by means of Supplementary Estimate.

Details of the actual outturn for my Department at subhead level for 2016, together with explanations for any variances between allocations and expenditure, will be published in the Annual Appropriation Account and be available on the website of the Comptroller and Auditor General later this year, as was the case for previous years.