Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 12 May 2026
520. Deputy Eoghan Kenny asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the basis on which the current levy arising from public expenditure overruns is being calculated and applied to his Department’s Vote; whether any categories of expenditure, including pay, pensions or staffing-related costs, are exempt from the levy within his Department; and if he will provide a breakdown of the areas against which the levy is being applied. [35079/26]
View answerI can confirm that a levy of €8 million will apply to current expenditure in the Enterprise, Tourism and Employment Vote in 2027. Officials in my Department have begun the process of engaging with all Budget Officers to identify efficiency and reform opportunities to inform how the levy may be applied. All areas of current expenditure will be reviewed before a final decision is made.
The Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation (DPER) has confirmed that it is a matter for my Department to determine how the levy will be applied across its Vote and there is no explicit requirement to include or exclude salaries and pensions from the levy.
Officials in my Department will continue to work on identifying efficiency and reform proposals and will submit these to DPER by the 17 July deadline.
Responsibility for providing direction on the consistent application of the levy arising from departmental expenditure overruns across Government Departments rests with DPER.
