Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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39. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he is satisfied that expenditure targets in respect of all Government Departments remain in line with projections for the current year and subsequently; whether he has identified any deviations from these targets in any particular area of expenditure; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29515/24]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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As a point of order, I bring to the attention of the House that my question is No. 39, not No. 40, and deserved to be taken first in ordinary questions. A precedent has obviously been set whereby somebody can convert from ordinary questions to priority questions. No disrespect to Deputy Pringle at all but I will not let it pass again. That should be brought to the attention of those officials responsible.

Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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Point taken.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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That is with no disrespect to the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach because she had nothing to do with it.

The question is one I have raised before. It concerns the importance of ensuring all Government expenditure targets remain within their projected arena, that Departments have a good chance of achieving their targets and that the targets will not cause a problem for the economy. I will develop that further.

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising an important issue for me. Expenditure profiles for 2024 were completed by all Votes in February and submitted to my Department. Performance against these profiles is used in-year to monitor the expenditure position and details are published monthly in the Fiscal Monitor.

At the end of the second quarter of 2024, gross voted expenditure stood at €47.1 billion. This demonstrates the significant investment the Government continues to provide across the public service to protect living standards, improve public services and safeguard our future through enhanced capital investment. This level of spending is 3.3% above projections for this period. While the majority of Vote groups remain at or near profile, the figures demonstrate a number of developing risks that require continued expenditure management across the remainder of the year.

Among the areas showing the most significant deviations from profile is health, which at the end of June was overspent against profile by €1 billion, or 9.7% up on where we expected to be. This is the main driving factor behind the overall overspend position and there continues to be ongoing engagement between my Department and the Department of Health in this regard. Other areas where there are significant variations from profile at the end of June are education; children, equality, disability, integration and youth; and housing. Part of this reflects increased capital spending, with the end June position reflecting the better than expected delivery on social housing and school buildings in the year to date.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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What is the extent to which the Minister - obviously continuously - monitors the performance of each Department, with particular reference to the areas he mentioned, in regard to infrastructure such as health services, schools, children and the disability sector? Is he satisfied, given the expansion of the population and ongoing demands, that targets are being met or will be met? Are further corrective measures needed?

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I monitor it. Every month when the figures come out, they are given the utmost attention by my Department and me and they form the centre of engagement I have with other Ministers and which my officials have with other Departments. The profiles only become of real use from March, April or May onwards because at that point we are able to see if Government spending is in line with the projections shared with us by Departments. The majority of Departments tend to be in line with where we expect spending to be in our budget Estimates. A number of Departments are in a different place this year. Some of that can be attributed to factors that are difficult for them to manage, such as the impact of migration on the budget of the Department of children and integration. The key concern I continue to have is spending in our health services. Today we made a further attempt to put that on a more stable and firm footing.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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This country depends to a very considerable extent on corporation tax, which has been referred to many times in the House over the years. Given that some multinational corporations have slowed down in terms of profits, has that been included in the continuous evaluation that goes on? Deputies on the other side of the House want a wealth tax but I do not think that would do anything other than scare companies that may already be suffering an internal or marketing problem. To what extent is the Minister building that into the calculations that have to evolve as time goes by?

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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That is being done by the Department of Finance at the moment. It reassesses twice a year its tax forecast for the years ahead. A big part of that will be the corporate tax forecasts, which have a big impact on overall tax figures. The final update for this year will be on budget day.