Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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398. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of times funding was moved across budget lines within his Department in a process known as virement; the name and purpose of the fund the money was taken from; the name and purpose of the fund the money was transferred to; the dates upon which he approved of such transfers, since he took office; if the Department of Public Expenditure was consulted prior to the transfer; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12272/23]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Public Financial Procedures (PFP) set out the guidance and procedures for managing annual Voted provisions.  The Virement process i.e. the application of savings on one or more subheads to meet excess expenditure on another subhead in the same Vote is possible because the annual Appropriation Act specifies in the Schedule only the ambit (Part 1) of each Vote.  The Act does not give legal effect to the individual subheads as “to do so would disrupt the smooth working of the financial system.”

My Department has a wide and diverse business agenda to deliver on key Government priorities covering a broad range of functions on Housing, Water, Planning, Local Government, Met Éireann and Heritage.  The annual total Gross Voted provision for my Department since I took office is set out below:

*including capital carryover

This significant level of funding, which is essential to deliver on key Government priorities, is the result of the annual Estimates process where detailed assessments and costing exercises are undertaken to estimate the total amount of funding required and to allocate that funding to each Programme in the Vote.  This substantial funding is further allocated across large number and range of specific subheads across the Vote.  Maximum flexibility, in line with Public Financial Procedures, is required to reallocate funding to ensure optimal use of available funding to deliver the maximum level of outputs. 

As provided for in the Public Financial Procedures the prior approval of the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform (DPENDPDR) is sought by my Department when virement is proposed. 

Summary details of the number and value of virements since 2020 are set out in the table below: 

*includes €310m provided for the Local Government Fund to partially cover the cost of the Commercial Rates Waivers arising in 2021

Explanations for variations in Programme expenditure are detailed in my Department’s Appropriation Accounts of the relevant years and can be found at the link below:

www.audit.gov.ie/en/find-report/publications/appropriation%20accounts/