Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth | The extent to which the funds available to his Department remain adequate to meet whatever challenges may arise, for whatever reason in the course of the next twelve months

QUESTION

To ask the Minister for Children; Equality; Disability; Integration and Youth the extent to which the funds available to his Department remain adequate to meet whatever challenges may arise, for whatever reason in the course of the next twelve months; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

REPLY

The Revised Estimates for Public Services 2024, published by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, detail gross allocation of €7.43 billion in respect of my Department for 2024.
 At the end of May, gross expenditure is running €164.3 million ahead of REV profile.

As the year progresses the main expenditure pressures for the Department in 2024 are in International Protection Accommodation Services (IPAS), Specialist Community Based Disability Services (SCBDS), Tusla, the Child and Family Agency and  Early Learning and Care, and School-Age Childcare

My Department continues to closely monitor expenditure. In this regard, there are a number of measures to ensure effective monitoring of expenditure trends. These include monthly reporting of actual expenditure against profiled, timing of spend over the course of the year and monthly forecasting of expected spending to the end of 2024. In addition, my department meet regularly with the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform regarding expenditure and spending projections for the Vote in 2024.