Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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28. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will report on the provision he has made for inflation in expenditure targets of 2017; if those targets include the provision of all new services promised under the programme for Government to be delivered in 2017; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3283/17]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The Revised Estimates Volume (REV) 2017 outlines Gross Voted Expenditure for 2017 of €58,072 million. The increase in the 2017 Estimate over the 2016 Estimate, including Supplementary Estimates, is €1.7 billion or 3.1 per cent.

The Mid-Year Expenditure Report, published in July 2016, set out the pre-Budget Ministerial expenditure ceilings that reflected certain 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.

As set out in the Programme for a Partnership Government (PfPG), the Government is committed to tackling the most pressing challenges Ireland faces, in areas such as housing and health, while continuing to focus on increasing employment across the country. The additional expenditure announced on Budget day, and allocated in the REV 2017, provides funding towards progressing a number of key commitments in these areas.

The REV allocates some €1.2 billion for the Housing programme in the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, an increase of €0.4 billion or 50 per cent over the amount allocated to that programme in 2016. This will support delivery of the commitments outlined in the Action Plan for Housing.

As outlined in the PfPG, increases of an average of more than 3 per cent per annum, combined with an ongoing reform agenda, are needed to make real improvements in the Health service. The REV allocates €14.6 billion to Health in 2017, an increase of almost €0.5 billion or 3.5 per cent on the 2016 allocation.

Social Protection is allocated €19.9 billion in 2017. This allocation will provide for increases of €5 per week, starting in March, for all weekly social welfare payments.

Higher quality and more affordable childcare benefits children, families and the economy. There is an increase of 15 per cent in the allocation for the Department of Children and Youth Affairs.

These increases demonstrate the Government's commitment to improvements in public services in line with the PfPG by delivering sustainable growth in public spending.