Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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313. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the extent to which she expects the budgetary requirements of her Department to fluctuate in the next 12 months; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35720/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy will be aware of the impact that the Covid-19 pandemic has had on Department of Social Protection expenditure. While the pre-Covid 2020 estimate for the expenditure was €21.2 billion, the 2020 provisional outturn at the end of the year is approximately €30.5 billion. This year, the original estimate agreed in October 2020 of €25.1 billion was increased to €29.1 billion following approval by the Dáil this month of the 2021 Further Revised Estimate. The extent to which the budgetary requirements of the Department will fluctuate for the next 12 months will depend on the future trajectory of the virus and how quickly remaining restrictions can be lifted.

My Department will be constantly monitoring and reviewing performance on each of its schemes and subheads over the next few months to inform its budgetary requirements for 2022, the estimates for which will be published as part of Budget 2022 in October 2021.