General law expenses allocation
Bruton questioned whether the £5,000 reduction in general law expenses depended on fewer prosecutions or deferred cases. Fitzgerald said actual 1980 spending was about £10,000, matching the 1981 estimate, despite a £15,000 provision shown for 1980. Bruton disputed the Estimates presentation, and the Ceann Comhairle and O’Keeffe briefly intervened before Fitzgerald reiterated his figures.
I have one final question. Does the Minister expect a diminution in the rate of prosecutions by the Director of Public Prosecutions which will enable him to save £5,000 on general law expenses or does he anticipate postponing cases until next year so that the money can be provided next year instead?
Comment on this
I am glad that the Deputy asked me that question and I will now give him the factual position. As I said earlier, the Deputy will get all the information he needs when Estimates time comes along. I will reply to his question now. The allocation in respect of the general law expenses subhead which covers expenditure on various expenses in legal cases, expenses of State solicitors and costs awarded against the State in the above Vote, was £15,000 in 1980 and £10,000 in 1981. In fact th expenditure in 1980 was about £10,000 and a repeat of this amount is estimated to be sufficient for 1981.
Comment on this
Could I ask the Minister why £15,000 appears in the Book of Estimates in view of the fact that the Book of Estimates is supposed to contain the actual amount spent last year, not the estimated provision?
Comment on this
The £15,000 appears in the Book of Estimates as the provision for 1980. The actual expenditure was about £10,000.
Comment on this
The Minister seems to be misinformed as to what is supposed to have been contained in the Book of Estimates.
Comment on this
Is the Minister aware that the Book of Estimates in respect of the previous year is supposed to contain not the provision made at the outset of the year but the amount spent? If what the Minister is saying is correct then the Estimates volume was incorrect and he was responsible, therefore, for the publication of an incorrect volume.
Comment on this
The Deputy's research is not as good as he might have thought it was. The factual and actual outturn in 1980 was about £10,000.
Comment on this
I would ask the Deputy to check his facts about the Book of Estimates. I am telling him that the factual and actual position is approximately £10,000 for 1980.
