906. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation whether consideration has been given to the application of an expenditure control levy across Government departments to address the Government recognized structural funding deficits in the higher education sector, including those identified in Funding the Future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57475/26]

Over the past four Budgets, €174 million has been invested into the core funding of the Higher Education sector, through ‘Funding the Future’. Funding has been provided both through the Exchequer and as part of the National Training Fund package announced in Budget 2025, which plans to deliver €150 million in core funding for higher education by 2030. Additional allocations in recent Budgets are supporting sustained investment in higher education, including additional healthcare education places and the expansion of tertiary programmes aligned with national skill priorities.

My Department recently issued a circular on ‘Expenditure Control and Escalation Process’ (Circular 21/2026) which sets out the various phases of an expenditure control escalation process for use across Government, and the corrective steps that may be implemented where expenditure risks and overruns are identified. This builds on Circular 18/2025 issued last year on Value for Money Obligations which set out the key legislation, and roles and responsibilities underpinning value for money obligations. The overall figure allocated for the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science was over €5 billion in 2026, including circa €3 billion allocated to the Higher Education sector. In that context, it is a matter for the DFHERIS to prioritise and manage expenditure across the sectors the Department funds, including Higher Education, and ensure efficient and effective outcomes are delivered in these sectors when using public resources.

In April, Government agreed that €446 million in additional funding will be provided to the Department of Education and Youth in 2026 by way of an expenditure levy from 2027. To accommodate this additional funding for Education and Youth Government agreed to reprioritise funding from other Votes to deliver on the 2027 ceiling as planned under the Medium-Term Fiscal and Structural Plan. Other Departments have been asked to deliver a levy through the implementation of efficiencies and reforms from 2027. This should be considered through the lens of an overall uplift of €7 billion for expenditure in 2027. It will not impact the 2026 allocations. Any decisions to introduce an additional levy will be a matter for Government.