Total expenditure on public services is to rise to €28,995m (€23,379m current, €5,615m capital) the Minister for Finance, Mr Charlie McCreevy said.
In his statement at the meeting of the Dáil Select Committee on Finance and the Public Service, Mr McCreevy said the new figure included €150 million for benchmarking, which was not included in the original figures published on February 28.
He said the total figure represents an increase of 14.4 per cent over the projected expenditure for 2001.
The Estimates for the Department of Finance will total €118 million over the course of the year, a net increase of €24 million over the 2001 outturn.
Major programme expenditures the Department’s estimate for 2002 include:
- €8 million for the Change Management Fund - a central resource to assist all Departments to carry through the Strategic Management Initiative which is the basis for the reform of the public service.
- €19.4 million to meet expenditure on EU co-funded programmes, including the Peace Programme, Northern Ireland Interreg and other community initiatives
- €15.4 million will be provided to assist the Irish public service adapt to an information society.
The net estimate for the Office of the Revenue Commissioners at €286.8 million is up €28 million, or 11 per cent on the 2001 outturn, the bulk of which will be used for pay and allowances of the 6,500 staff that work there. The money will also cover the restructuring of the department.
Need for structural change was endorsed by the Department of Finance Review of Revenue which followed the PAC inquiry into DIRT, and is a central component of Revenue’s Statement of Strategy for 2001 – 2003
The most recent advance was the establishment of a new Prosecutions Division with a mandate to secure an increase in the number of convictions for serious cases of revenue fraud and tax evasion.
Also included in the 2002 Estimate is provision for the Revenue On-Line Service (ROS).
This Internet facility enables business users, including the self employed and third party agents, to transact business with Revenue on-line, including filing returns, calculating and paying liabilities.
The benefits of ROS include speedier, secure and more accurate processing of tax returns, a reduction in compliance costs, a reduction in paper handling and an altogether more efficient service.