Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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96. To ask the Minister for Finance the estimated net fiscal space less budget 2018 carryover costs and Public Service Stability Agreement costs per annum in 2019 to 2021, inclusive, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45014/17]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The details that the Deputy has requested are set out in the following table.

Page 37 of the Expenditure Report 2018outlines the carryover impact of the Public Service Stability Agreement for 2018-2020. Table 7 on page 38 provided an estimate of €192 million in respect of the full-year impact of Budget 2018 current expenditure measures in the areas of Social Protection, Education and Justice. As these estimates relate to measures being implemented in 2018 they will be impacted by the actual cost and timing of implementation and consequently the estimated costs will be reassessed as part of the Budget Estimates process for 2019 as set out in the expenditure report, these costs would need to be met from the unallocated resources in 2019 or from savings/reprioritisations identified, for example through the Spending Review process.

In relation to the Budget 2018 tax measures it is estimated that there would be a total carryover cost into 2019 of €14 million. For 2020 and 2021 the carryover impact is revenue generating (shown in the table with a negative sign) which will increase fiscal space.

I should point out that the exact impacts of carryover will be reviewed as part of the normal Budgetary process, as there are a lot of moving parts to be considered, such as economic growth, take up of various schemes and specific tax relevant factors, which could impact on the expected return from the measures.

Finally, I would also like to reiterate that choosing the right budgetary stanceshould be the guiding principle going forward. We must ensure that budgetary policy is appropriate in supporting sound macroeconomic conditions. It must be cognisant of the cyclical position of, and careful not to overheat, the economy.