Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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12. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the actions taken in the event that spending projections across Departments are not met; if the €317 million underspend in net voted expenditure in 12 Departments announced in the December 2017 Fiscal Monitor will be returned to the central fund or if the funds will be kept in the Departments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2343/18]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I ask the Minister to confirm the end-of-year figures in terms of current and capital underspend. I note a total of €352 million, made up of €314 million and €38 million. Will that underspend be retained in each Department or go back into central funds?

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The effective management of the delivery of public services within budgetary allocations is a key responsibility for each Minister and their Department on an ongoing basis. My Department is in regular contact during the year with all other Departments and offices to ensure that expenditure is being managed within the overall budgetary parameters. Information in regard to gross and net voted expenditure is published monthly in the Department of Finance’s Fiscal Monitor.

Given the scale of overall voted expenditure, the cash basis of Government accounting and the funding implications that unexpected events can have on expenditure requirements, variances from spending profiles can occur for a number of reasons. At the end of December last year, net voted expenditure was €46.29 billion in total. Net current expenditure amounted to €41.968 billion and net capital expenditure amounted to €4.3 billion. In overall terms, this level of spend is €352 million, or 0.8%, above profile based on the Revised Estimates Volume published in December 2016. The expenditure report of 2018, published on budget day, updated the estimated expenditure position for 2017. The expenditure outturn for the year is broadly in line with the updated estimate of €46.72 billion.

As the Deputy will be aware, Supplementary Estimates of €491 million were agreed by the Dáil in December. As we are operating under the preventive arm of the Stability and Growth Pact, Supplementary Estimates must be accommodated within the requirements of the fiscal rules. Where there are underspends across Departments, they can be used to offset additional expenditure in other areas. Thus, the underspends of €317 million for 2017 across 12 Departments, as noted by the Deputy, will offset the impact of the Supplementary Estimates and the balance will be surrendered to the Exchequer based on the appropriation account outturn.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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What amount does the Minister anticipate will be surrendered to the Exchequer following that process? Does any Department give him cause for particular concern? For example, the Department of Health is €195 million above profile in terms of current expenditure yet at the final Cabinet meeting before Christmas a health service plan for 2018 was published, wherein the Director General of the HSE stated there was €346 million of planned expenditure for which he had no money. Will we see another figure next year for an overspend in the Department of Health? Those who are depending on fodder and awaiting a proper response from the Department of Agriculture will be perturbed by the €73 million underspend within that Department in terms of current spending. Some Departments have huge expenditure pressures but are sending in under budgets and then once again the Department is significantly over current profile.

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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As regards the Deputy's first question, as we are currently in mid-January I am not yet in a position to tell the Deputy the net amount that will be left once the underspends in individual Departments are offset against the additional costs to which I referred. However, I expect that the net underspend will be a very small amount of the total €46.27 billion the State spent last year.

I do not currently have additional concerns relating to any individual Department. It is correct that the Department of Health in recent years has received additional support from my Department to help it meet needs relating to costs that develop throughout the year. If I did not respond to such needs, I would be criticised for not dealing with service needs that exist. However, we continue to expect all Departments to live within their means, as is the case overall in terms of the total figures available to the Government.