Corporate Finance and Planning Division

Corporate Finance and Planning Division

Head of Division: Brian Carroll, Principal Officer

2011 Estimate

• The total gross Vote provision for the Department in 2011 is €475m made up of €336m current and €139m capital
• Of the gross current provision, €222m relates to the Vote neutral Broadcasting Licence Fee Receipts i.e. money that passes through the Vote as a receipt with corresponding expenditure
• When this is netted off the gross provision, the Department’s 2011 budget is €253m made up of €114m current and €139m capital
• A copy of the Department’s 2011 Vote is attached for information

Main Areas of 2011 Expenditure

The Department’s five largest areas of expenditure in 2011 are:

• €79m for Energy Efficiency Programmes – the bulk of this being provided for the National Energy Efficiency Retrofit Programme
• Over €20m for Energy Research Programmes (€12m is for Ocean energy)
• Over €34m in cases of market failure for ICT Programmes – most of this is to fund broadband investment with €7m provided for the Postcodes project
• Nearly €34m for TG4 (as provided for in the 2011 Budget approximately €10m of this will be funded out of TV Licence Fee Receipts – urgent amending legislation will be required to give effect to this)
• Nearly €29m for Inland Fisheries
• A breakdown of the Department’s 2011 capital allocation is attached for information

National Recovery Plan 2011 – 2014

The National Recovery Plan 2011 – 2014 envisaged the following expenditure ceilings for the Department:

Therefore, the trajectory is for lower current and capital expenditure – the latter will have implications for investment in energy efficiency and in broadband.

Employment Control Framework (ECF) as notified by DoF

The ECF is the key mechanism to deliver the savings in Public Service Pay required under the Croke Park Agreement. The 2010-2014 Employment Control Framework for the Department and its Agencies as notified recently by the Department of Finance presents very challenging targets for staff numbers reductions in the Department and its Agencies over the period to 2014 against the background of the very heavy policy and programme agenda facing the Department over that period.

EU/IMF Programme of Financial Support

Corporate Finance and Planning also acts the central contact point with the Department of Finance in terms compliance and reporting requirements of the EU/IMF Programme of Financial Support for Ireland.