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The Minster for Public Expenditure and Reform, Michael McGrath, TD today (Tuesday), gave a detailed update to Cabinet on the end of March expenditure position, including an update on expenditure performance of Departments against profile and a year on year comparison, and a briefing on the expenditure outlook for the months ahead. The additional expenditure reporting requirements that Minister McGrath brought to Cabinet recently will come into effect later this month as a number of Ministers bring forward memos on their departmental spending to date, and plans for expenditure over the remainder of the year. Overall gross voted expenditure by Departments to the end of March 2021 was €19.5 billion. This was €511 million (2.7%) ahead of profile and €2,469 million (14.5%) higher than expenditure for the same period in 2020. Gross voted current expenditure of €18.6 billion was €631 million or 3.5% ahead of profile and €2,733 million (17.3%) ahead of last year. This reflects the continued significant expenditure on Covid-19 schemes in the Department of Social Protection such as the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) and Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS). In relation to capital expenditure, restrictions on construction activity as a result of Covid-19 will have impacted on infrastructure delivery and related spend and this has resulted in gross voted expenditure being €120 million or 11.3% below profile and €264 million (21.9%) below the same period last year. Minister McGrath said: "I am determined to push forward on capital plans, and in that regard, completing the review of the National Development Plan in the coming months will be a key priority. Capital investment will help our economy to rebound from the damage of Covid-19. At a new all-time high of €10.8 billion in 2021, investment in infrastructure will provide stimulus and employment at this important juncture of our economic recovery. “The aggregate expenditure to the end of March this year on the EWSS and PUP was nearly €3 billion. In total, €12 billion more was spent in the Department of Social Protection in the twelve months to end-March 2021 than over the previous 12 months, reflecting the combined supports to business and incomes of the TWSS, EWSS and PUP. Careful management of public expenditure will help to steer the economy way out of this difficult period, and I want to reassure people once again that there will be no cliff edge to these supports. “In the coming weeks, the government will make and announce decisions about the future of the economic supports for the period post end-June. We anticipate a healthy rebound to economic activity in parallel with the gradual reopening of society.”

ENDS

Contact:Claire Godkin - Press Officer, Department of Public Expenditure and Reform - 085 806 3969