Public Spending – The Facts And the Challenges Donal McNally 2 October 2009

Table 1 Projected Government Finances 2009 (as per Supplementary Budget April 2009) €bn%GDP % GNP Current Spending €62.4bn36.4%43.4% Current Receipts €51.3bn29.9%35.6% Current Deficit -€11.1bn-6.5%-7.7% Capital Spending €11.2bn6.5%7.8% Capital Receipts & Resources €2.0bn1.2%1.4% Capital Deficit -€9.2bn-5.4%-6.4% Exchequer Deficit -€20.3bn-11.9%-14.1% corresponding General Government Deficit -€18.4bn -10¾% -12.8%

Table II Spending GROSS CURRENT SPENDING + 6% EXCHEQUER PAY & PENSIONS+ 2% NET CURRENT SPENDING- 0.5% CAPITAL SPENDING- 19%

Table III Spending Pressures Gross Spending 2009 SOCIAL WELFARE+ 18% HOUSING+ 13% AGRICULTURE + 6% AGRICULTURE + 6% HEALTH + 2% HEALTH + 2% EDUCATION + 2%

Table IV SERVICING THE DEBT Year Central Fund Current expenditure (non-Voted), incl.debt-servicing costs € billion % of GNP 2.5%4.1%5.6%6.4%6.8%6.9%

Table V Planned Fiscal Consolidation %GDP 5.5% Total proposed consolidation Full Year Taxation€2,500m€2,100€4,600m Current Expenditure €1,500m€1,500€3,000m Capital Expenditure €750m€1,000€1,750 Total€4,750€4,600m€9,350m

VI Breakdown of 2009 Current Voted Expenditure of €56.6 billion

VII Public Service numbers Increase% Health20% Education27% Justice22% Defence-8% Civil Service 7% State Agencies 11% Local Authorities 6% Public Service 17%

VIII Special Group’s Proposed Savings and Staffing Reductions Ministerial Vote Group/Expenditure Area Full-Year Expenditure Savings €m Staffing Reductions Social & Family Affairs Health and Children Education & Science Other1,8481, ,486-6,1686,9304,260 Total5,31017,358

IX Structural Spending Issues I. How Spending is Managed  Focus on Short term  Volume of Inputs  Outputs & Performance Secondary II.Series of Recommendations  3 Year Budgets  Focus on Outputs  More VFM & Outside Scrutiny  Performance Charters  More CBAs  Look back reviews for Major Projects  Sunset Clauses  Cash Limits

X Other Issues I.How Services Are Delivered  Fragmented – Enterprise Supports & STI  Too Many Cooks – 870 Local Bodies  Same Ground Covered – Activation Measures II.Do structures Help or Hinder  National, Regional, Local  Stovepipe Functions  Regulators/Ombudsmen  Voluntary Sector

X (Contd) III.General Savings  Public Procurement  Shared Services/Outsourcing  Property Management IV.Rationalising State Agencies  Policy Focus in Departments  Citizen Focus in Delivery  Specialism v Streamlining  Shared Services  Agency Life Cycle  Difficulty in Meeting “rational” piece of “Rationalisation”.