John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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241. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his plans to implement recommendations (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61901/21]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Summer Economic Statement (SES) set out the Government’s medium term fiscal strategy which anchors budgetary policy by keeping core expenditure growth in line with the trend growth rate of the economy.

The objective of this rule is to de-couple expenditure policy from cyclical variations in the economy and from windfall tax revenue. In its Fiscal Assessment Report, the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council welcomed this innovation to Ireland’s fiscal framework. I further note the Council’s view that the Government’s fiscal stance for next year strikes the appropriate balance between continuing to provide the necessary fiscal support to the economy while returning the public finances to a sustainable trajectory.

I note the Council's comments in relation to Departmental expenditure ceilings in respect of current expenditure not being published beyond 2022. In line with last year's Budget, technical current expenditure ceilings for 2023 and 2024 will be published before the end of the year, with the final ceilings for these years being fixed as part of the estimates process in the respective years, within the overall expenditure parameters set out in the SES and Expenditure Report 2022. This approach reflects the need to consider in Estimates settlements the unwinding of Covid-19 related expenditure and the allocation of funding from the Brexit Adjustment Reserve.

As usual with the Fiscal Assessment Report. The Minister for Finance will formally respond in the coming weeks.

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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242. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the way major budgetary commitments in relation to Sláintecare fit into his plans for future public expenditure given Sláintecare costings have not been updated since 2017; the projected future costings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61902/21]

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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243. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the way budgetary commitments in relation to climate actions fit into his plans for future public expenditure given there is no estimate for the budgetary cost of implementing the climate action plan as indicated by the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61903/21]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 242 and 243 together.

Budget 2022 followed the medium term expenditure strategy laid out in the Summer Economic Statement, which set a sustainable rate of growth for core expenditure in the period to 2025. This will see core expenditure grow each year by just over 5 per cent on average over the period to 2025, broadly in line with the trend growth rate of the economy. The average annual growth rate in current expenditure is just under 4¾ per cent with total capital spending, including that funded by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, growing by an annual average of over 8½ per cent.

This strategy sees an annual average of €3.2 billion being made available for increases in core current expenditure over the period 2022 to 2024. This includes a provision of 3% of the core current expenditure base in respect of existing level of service costs with the balance in funding being available for priority new current expenditure measures.

The increases in core capital spending, consistent with the amounts set out under the revised National Development Plan, will see increases ranging between €0.8 to €1.1 billion in the period from 2022 to 2024.

In looking at the Health expenditure, it is important to take into account the additional funding allocated in Budget 2021 and Budget 2022. Core current expenditure of €20.4 billion is provided in 2022 for the Department of Health, an increase of €2.9 billion compared to the amount set out in the pre-Covid Revised Estimates Volume for 2020. This has allowed for significant funding to be allocated to new measures including for additional staffing and capacity improvements, with Sláintecare measures being budgeted as part of the new measures allocation to the Department of Health.

As outlined, there are significant increases provided for capital investment. The revised National Development Plan set new five year rolling Departmental capital allocations and overall ten year capital ceilings out to 2030. The NDP sets out a total public investment of €165 billion over the period 2021 to 2030. Looking at the Government’s climate ambitions, extensive efforts have been made to ensure that the National Development Plan will support these ambitions.

The level of resources being set aside for core spending is significant - almost €93 billion in 2025 compared to just over €70 billion in 2020. This additional spending will provide for new expenditure measures, including for priorities such as Sláintecare and Climate Action, with allocations of the additional current funding being decided each year as part of the estimates process.