Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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92. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform when he expects the completion of the expenditure review; the estimated savings that can be made as a result of the review; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31984/17]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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Work on Spending Review 2017 has been ongoing since January of this year. The Mid-Year Expenditure Report (MYER) will include a substantive overview of this process in the coming weeks. In addition, a series of papers will be published with the MYER and will present the results of the analysis of the wide range of expenditure schemes and programmes that have been examined this year. This 2017 Review is the first in a three-year cycle of 'rolling', selective reviews that will examine all day-to-day Departmental spending by 2019. This reflects a change in approach from the 2011 and 2014 Comprehensive Reviews of Expenditure, which covered all Government expenditure in a single year.

The Spending Review process operates within the wider budgetary architecture and the medium-term expenditure framework, which supports sustainable expenditure policy, anchored by reference to the fiscal rules. The aim of the Spending Review process is not to reduce Departmental expenditure but rather to examine existing spending within this overall budget constraints by reference to the principles of efficiency, effectiveness, sustainability and impact. By systematically examining baseline expenditure using available evidence and data, the increasing tendency to focus only on the incremental increase in expenditure can be countered. The results of the Spending Review analysis will support budgetary decisions and facilitate the consideration of existing expenditure alongside budgetary proposals.