The Minister of State, Deputy D'Arcy, is welcome to the House.
Appropriation Bill 2017 [Certified Money Bill]: Second and Subsequent Stages
Question proposed: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."
The Appropriation Bill 2017 is an essential element of financial housekeeping that, as Members of the House are aware, must be concluded by both Houses of the Oireachtas before the end of this year.
The Bill serves two primary purposes. First, the Appropriation Bill is necessary to authorise in law all of the expenditure that has been undertaken in 2017. Section 1 and Schedule 1 set out the amounts to be appropriated for supply services. These relate to the amounts included in the Revised Estimates for 2017 voted by the Dáil on 30 May this year, and the Further Revised Estimates and Supplementary Estimates voted by the Dáil last Thursday, 7 December. In aggregate, these Estimates amount to €46.8 billion. The comparable amount in the Appropriation Act 2016 was €44.6 billion. The amount to be appropriated this year, therefore, represents an increase of €2.2 billion, or 4.9%, on last year’s net voted expenditure with over 80% of this increase in the areas of housing, health and education.
The second key purpose of the Appropriation Bill is to provide a legal basis for spending to continue into 2018. The passage of the Appropriation Bill allows continued funding in the period before the 2018 Estimates are approved. I refer to social welfare payments from the social protection Vote, Exchequer pay and pensions and other voted expenditure. If the Bill were not enacted before the end of December there would be no authority to spend any voted moneys in 2018 from the start of January until approval of the 2018 Estimates, since this authority for 2018, as contained in the Central Fund (Permanent Provisions) Act 1965, is based on the amounts provided for in the 2017 Appropriation Act. Under the rolling multi-annual capital envelopes introduced in budget 2004, Departments may carry over, from the current year to the following year, unspent capital up to a maximum of 10% of voted capital.
The multi-annual system is designed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the management by Departments and agencies of capital programmes and projects. It recognises the difficulties inherent in the planning and profiling of capital expenditure and acknowledges that capital projects may be subject to delays. The carry-over facility allows for a portion of unspent moneys, which would have been lost to the capital programmes and projects concerned under the annual system of allocating capital, to be made available for spending on programme priorities in the subsequent year. The Appropriation Act determines definitively the capital amounts which may be carried over to the following year. The aggregate amount of proposed capital carry-over from 2017 into 2018 is €70.3 million, which represents less than 2% of the total Exchequer capital programme of €4.6 billion for 2017. The amount carried over from 2016 into 2017 was €76.5 million.
The proposed amounts to be carried over by Vote are set out in Schedule 2 to the Bill. The 2018 Revised Estimates Volume, published yesterday, sets out detailed financial and key performance information for Departments and offices. In Part II of the Estimates, for each Vote availing of the capital carry-over facility, a table is included listing the amounts to be deferred by subhead. Certain Exchequer liabilities and social welfare payments, in particular child benefit, are due for payment by electronic funds transfer on 2 January 2018. With the banking system closed on 1 January 2018 funding will need to be in place in departmental bank accounts before the end of this year to meet those liabilities on a timely basis.
In addition, An Post needs to be pre-funded before the end of the 2017 in respect of certain benefit payments due in the first week of January 2018 in order to physically transfer cash to its network of post offices throughout the country. These Exchequer pay and pension and social welfare payments will form part of the supply services for 2018. Consequently the funds to cover these costs will be included in amounts disbursed from the Central Fund to the Paymaster General’s supply account as part of the 2018 supply issues. These costs will come under moneys voted in 2018 in respect of which the usual processes and mechanisms for voted moneys in 2018 will apply.
In line with last year, section 3 of the Bill includes a specific provision to allow for an advance not exceeding €200 million from the Central Fund to the Paymaster General’s supply account, with this advance then being repaid to the Central Fund in January. The Bill provides that the amounts so advanced shall not exceed €200 million. The signed Act is required by the Comptroller and Auditor General for clearance of the end-year issues from the Exchequer.
Under Article 25.2.1° of the Constitution, the President may not sign a Bill earlier than the fifth day after the date on which the Bill is presented to him. However, there is provision in Article 25.2.2° whereby, at the request of the Government, with the prior concurrence of Seanad Éireann, the President may sign a Bill on an earlier date than the fifth day mentioned. In view of the urgency of this Bill, the provision in Article 25.2.2° is sought, and a motion to this effect is placed before the Seanad. Such an early signature motion has also been sought in relation to the Appropriation Bill in previous years. I remarked at the outset that the Appropriation Bill is an essential element of housekeeping which those of us in both Houses of the Oireachtas are required to undertake. The passing of the Bill will authorise in law all of the expenditure that has been undertaken in 2017 on the basis of the Estimates voted on by the Dáil during the year. Of fundamental importance to those that depend on essential public services, the passage of the Bill will also ensure that payments funded from voted expenditure in 2017 such as jobseeker’s allowance, disability allowance, non-contributory State pension, nurses’ pay, teachers’ pay and all other pay and pensions funded from voted money, can continue to be funded in 2018 in the period before the Dáil approves the 2018 Estimates. I commend the Bill to the House.
I thank the Minister of State for his very comprehensive statement. I welcome the opportunity to speak briefly on the Appropriation Bill. Fianna Fáil will support this very technical but essential legislation, without which many people would be stuck without funds that they would be otherwise expecting. The Bill gives statutory authority for the amounts voted by the Dáil during the year and these amounts obviously include original Estimates, further revised Estimates and supplementary Estimates. The figures involved are substantial. There is almost €47 billion in Schedule 1, which is the sum granted out of the Central Fund towards the proper supply of services. There is another almost €3 billion of appropriations-in-aid, that is, revenues received that are retained by that area for use that do not go to the Central Fund. The Director of Public Prosecutions, for example, might have a gross Estimate of almost €42 million but because of its appropriations-in-aid it does not extract so much from the Central Fund. The Bill also provides for sums deferred into the year ended 31 December 2018. The term "capital supply service and purpose" means supply service voted by the Dáil, the purpose of which is to create an asset intended for the use on a continuing basis within an expected life of more than one year. These are sums for which surrender was deferred in 2017, mostly salaries and expenses of various Departments.
The Minister of State's speech was very comprehensive. This is technical legislation that we will support. We will also support the motion that will enable the Bill to move more quickly through the Houses.
I thank the Minister of State. Sinn Féin will also support the Bill. In terms of the carryover of €70.3 million, I hope that will not be announced as new money and that it will be made clear that it is carried over from what was allocated this year. I understand the need for this Bill and my party will support it.
The Labour Party will support this Bill. It is interesting to note the distance we have travelled since 2011, in terms of the financial chaos that was left to the incoming Government. The distance we have travelled has been quite difficult and while there are still many social problems, at least the scourge of unemployment has been alleviated in recent years. Hopefully we will move on to full employment but more than that, to quality employment that pays decent wages for decent work. It is also interesting to note that the State borrowed money this morning at a minus rate of -0.52%. We are now being paid to borrow money which is an interesting turnaround.
That is not quite correct.
I know, but we are getting there, certainly in comparison to the interest rates that we were paying in 2011. The Government that took over in that year was handed a totally dysfunctional economy.
This is essentially a technical, housekeeping Bill. I look forward to the day this Government can increase the amount of money being spent on housing. Not only is there an acute homelessness problem, there is also an acute problem in terms of the availability of affordable housing. We will have to invest much more in the coming years in affordable housing. I will finish on that point and wish Members of the House and the Minister of State a happy Christmas.
I welcome the Minister of State to the House and wish him well with this Bill. I also congratulate him on steering his first Appropriation Bill through the Houses. I have seen many such Bills pass through this House over the years. The Appropriation Bill is one of the most important Bills because it covers the expenditure for 2017 up until the end of the year so that we can balance the books. It also gives a legal basis for our spending in 2018 up to a certain limit. That means that we can pay social welfare payments, including child benefit, in January. It is a very important Bill in that sense.
I would like to take this opportunity to wish Senator Buttimer, the Leader of the House, the best of luck in his marriage to his partner Conchobar at the end of the year. I congratulate him and wish him well. I would also like to convey my best wishes to the Cathaoirleach, to the staff of Seanad Éireann including Martin, Bridget and Aisling for the great work they have done throughout the year. They are always so helpful whether one is dealing with a Bill or a motion before the House. I thank them for their assistance and their hard work over the last 12 months. I wish everyone in the House a happy Christmas.
As there are no other Senators indicating, I invite the Minister of State to conclude.
I thank Senators for their engagement on this Bill. I point out to Senator Paddy Burke that it is my first Appropriation Bill in this seat. I was sitting where the Senator is now on previous occasions.
While it is not perfect where we are, it is a lot brighter than in 2011 and while we may have different views, ideologies and beliefs in terms of how to handle things, I always accept everyone's bona fides because I believe that everyone acts in the interests of the nation and the people.
Anyone who has heard me talking about financial services will have heard me talking about moving up the value chain. The Taoiseach shares my desire to see every worker move up the value chain. Higher pay gives people the opportunity to buy their own house, which is really important in the Irish psyche. The Irish and British people are very similar in that we like to own our own property but that is very difficult for many people in the current market.
This is an essential housekeeping Bill. I thank the Senators for supporting it and for signalling their intention to also support the early signature motion. I wish to take this opportunity to thank the Acting Chairman, Members and staff of Seanad Éireann and the staff of the Department of Finance for being so helpful. I have been in this job for almost six months and have been in this Chamber quite a lot during that time. I thank everyone for their co-operation. I want to thank my good friend Senator Buttimer and wish him well on his upcoming event. I am sure it will be an enjoyable day.
Question put and agreed to.
Bill put through Committee, reported without recommendation, received for final consideration and ordered to be returned to the Dáil.