905. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation to provide details of the rate of expenditure control levy applied across all Government departments; the estimated value of the levy in each case, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57474/26]

My Department wrote to Secretaries General of other Departments in April this year following the Government decision to apply an expenditure levy. This letter informed Departments of the need to identify efficiencies and reforms and that these proposals would form a key element of the Estimates 2027 discussions. As the levy will only take effect from 2027 Departments have been given significant time to identify and prepare for the implementation of these reforms.

Budget 2027 will continue to place a focus on the delivery of reforms and efficiencies and the achievement of value for money. It will build on the work undertaken as part of Budget 2026 in this regard.

The delivery of reforms and efficiencies supports adherence to the fixed expenditure ceilings set out in the Medium Term Fiscal Structural Plan (MTFP) agreed in December last year. It reflects the need to moderate the rate of expenditure growth across other Departments to facilitate Government’s decision to reprioritise and provide additional investment to the Education sector within the agreed overall fiscal framework out to 2030.

The distribution of the levy across Departments has been designed to protect certain areas including:

• Social Protection Vote Group non-pay allocation;

• Department of Health pay allocation;

• Specialist Disability Services subhead in the Department of Children, Disability and Equality;

• Justice, Home Affairs and Migration Group pay;

• Housing, Local Government and Heritage Group non-pay and

• Pension funding across Votes.

The table below sets out the level of levy that will apply to each Vote Group.