Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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1408. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the expenditure savings that are earmarked for his Department for 2018 that are not accounted for in the mid-year expenditure report or are not included in the fiscal space calculations for 2018. [38894/17]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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The Mid-Year Expenditure Report sets out the pre-Budget expenditure ceiling for my Department of €1,270 million for current expenditure and €238 million for capital expenditure. This represents the spending baseline for examination of my Department's budgetary priorities for 2018.

As outlined in the Mid-Year Expenditure Report, the increases planned in expenditure for the delivery of public services are set at sustainable levels in order to ensure that the resources allocated are affordable both now and in the future. Consequently, it is important that there is an ongoing focus on the totality of Departmental spending and not just the incremental increase each year. 

This was the context for this year's Spending Review which will support the consideration of existing expenditure alongside budgetary proposals during the Budget Estimates process.

Expenditure on the schemes and services operated by my Department are kept under constant review throughout the year. These schemes and services are subject to a range of external factors such as demand from beneficiaries, market and economic factors, animal disease incidence, and the pace of completion of capital investment and research projects as well as the need to adhere to important issues of governance, legal and contractual obligations, including compliance with national and EU operational rules and requirements.

Where any savings are identified during the Estimates process they can be used to meet any emerging expenditure pressures without impacting on the available fiscal space. Work is ongoing in this regard.