Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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232. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the content of the reported troika-style spending restrictions implemented in Departments to reduce spending. [22990/21]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Expenditure Report 2021 set out overall expenditure for 2021 of €87.8 billion. In addition to the substantial funding of almost €12 billion for expenditure to respond to Covid-19, Budget 2021 increased overall core expenditure by 7.7%.

Taking into account the significant level of funding allocated to Departments for 2021, Government agreed in February that the sectors accounting for a large proportion of overall spending would provide quarterly reports on expenditure to Government. These reports are intended to provide additional detail in relation to spending by these Departments, identifying key areas where spending is either above or below profile and setting out the outlook for the year taking into account the impact of Covid-19 on programmes and projects. The reporting in relation to capital spending reflects the key role that capital spending can play in enhancing the resilience of the economy and in providing key social infrastructure. This reporting is in the context of the level of capital carryover into 2021 and the 19% increase in core capital spending set out in Expenditure Report 2021.

These quarterly reports provide further detail and context to Government in relation to spending and progress on programmes and projects, and are an important element of the overall expenditure management framework.