Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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989. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason for expenditure running €319 million ahead of profile, as outlined in the Mid-Year Expenditure Report; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37478/23]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Mid Year Expenditure Report 2023 was published by the Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform in July. The report outlines the expenditure trends for the first half of 2023 across all Government Departments.

The Department of Social Protection's expenditure to the end of June was €12.3 billion, which was €319 million ahead of profile. Expenditure above profile was driven by the Spring cost of living bonus payments, which was partially offset by lower than expected expenditure on Jobseeker's Allowance, due to lower recipient numbers than profiled.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.