Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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110. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the extent to which he and his Department expect strategically to increase areas of public expenditure that may be suffering in the aftermath of the financial crisis and the Covid-19 crisis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21413/22]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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130. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the extent to which he continues to have reforms in mind that may be helpful in the current inflationary climate; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21414/22]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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191. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he remains satisfied that levels of public expenditure are necessary and in line with budgetary targets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21589/22]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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193. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he is satisfied that the curbs on public expenditure in Ireland will not inhibit progress on infrastructural investment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21591/22]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 110, 130, 191 and 193 together.

Last year’s Summer Economic Statement (SES) set out planned expenditure ceilings to 2025 under our Medium Term Expenditure Strategy. This is part of a fiscal framework that seeks to ensure that the level of spending and overall position of the public finances are sustainable over the medium term. It sees overall core expenditure growing at around 5 per cent per year on average over the period, a rate broadly in line with trend growth rate of the economy.

The average annual growth rate in core current expenditure is just under 4¾ per cent. Total capital spending, including that funded under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, is to grow by an annual average of over 8½ per cent, reaching over €13½ billion in 2025. This builds on increased capital investment in recent years, following a period of significant expenditure reductions following the global financial crisis, and provides for increased allocations to key areas such as housing and climate investment. In Budget 2022, core capital spending increased by 11.7% over the 2021 position, allowing for increased allocations to Departments to progress infrastructural investment in line with the revised National Development Plan.

Budget 2022 allocations were in line with the parameters set out in the SES, with €80.1 billion in core expenditure available for 2022 and up to €7½ billion in non-core funding for temporary challenges such as Covid-19 and Brexit. This provides necessary continued supports as we recover from the pandemic while improving core services.

Recent years have seen a number of budgetary reforms implemented, which can aid and enhance our ongoing focus on ensuring value for money from public funds. This continues to be particularly important in light of recent expenditure pressures posed by Covid-19 and now by inflation and the war in Ukraine. These reforms includes the ‘whole-of-year’ budgetary framework, the Spending Review process, Performance Budgeting and Equality Budgeting and the development of the Wellbeing Framework for Ireland. Careful scrutiny on the quality of expenditure and what it delivers for citizens will be necessary to ensure we meet targets, in the context of both the significant level of resources to be provided under the medium term expenditure strategy and the current challenges we face.