asked the Minister for Finance if he will make available to the members of the Committee on Public Expenditure copies of the decision of the Government, dated 8 July, on public expenditure which was made available to the media (details supplied) on 11 October 1983.

12.

asked the Minister for Finance if he will investigate the circumstances in which a confidential Government document on public expenditure came to be disclosed to the media (details supplied).

I propose to take Questions Nos. 11 and 12 together. I have considered having investigations made into the source of the reported leak to the media of my Department's confidential circular on the 1984 Estimates. That circular requests Departments to prepare their Estimates for Government consideration and lays down guidelines for this work. Since many individuals in Departments and in other bodies in the public sector participate in drawing up the Estimates, the circular is seen by a large number of people. I have therefore concluded that an investigation into the source of the leak could be both costly and unproductive.

Members of the Oireachtas, including the Public Expenditure Committee, will be informed of the Government's expenditure decisions in the normal ways.

Will the Minister inquire directly from his Ministerial colleagues who are in the habit of giving information directly to newspapers? He might inquire first in the course of his investigations from them. Will he also acknowledge that a Government decision, which this is purported to be, can come only from Government? Because of that will he confine his investigation to the colleagues immediately with him around the table from the senior to the most junior level?

A question, Deputy.

I suggest that in relation to his inquiry in the first instance.

The Deputy again is involving himself in rather tendentious arguments. There are two questions here, one from Deputy O'Rourke, which asked how it came about that the confidential Government document on public expenditure became available to the media, and the question put down by Deputy O'Kennedy——

The Minister took both together——

——relates to the same event. Both, as far as I can establish, refer to the leak to the media of the circular on the 1984 Estimates. I have explained — and the Deputy is well aware of procedure here — that that circular goes to a large number of people in Departments and other agencies who have to participate in the work of drawing up the Estimates. I have concluded that an investigation into the source of that leak could be both costly and unproductive.

The Minister will understand that the House can only conclude that the reason he is not having an investigation is that he does not want to embarrass his colleagues ——

It is not.