The Government is to introduce a new method of announcing budgetary measures from December with all new spending arrangements, as well as tax changes, to be announced on Budget day, instead of on three separate occassions.
Minister for Finance, Brian Cowen, described the changes as a streamlining of the budgetary process and as a major innovation and said they will help the government manage the public finances in a more transparent and effective manner.
Up to now, the abridged estimates were published in November, Budget Day was in December and the publication of the revised estimates were in February.
Minister Cowen said that, in order to make the system more transparent, the Government will publish detailed pre-budget estimates in October of the resources required to maintain the existing level of public services in 2008.
These pre-budget estimates will form part of the new Pre-Budget Outlook (PBO) which sets out the economic and fiscal outlook for the next three years.
He said this initiative will make it clear to Dáil Éireann and to the public at large what is the pre-Budget position and what is the additional spending being proposed.
'All policy initiatives involving an increase in public expenditure, above and beyond the "existing level of service" figures, will now be dealt with in Budget 2008, along with the Social Welfare increases and tax measures', he said.
The Tánaiste said this is in response to a call from the Dáil's Public Accounts Committee, which in a 2005 report on estimates reform requested a clear distinction between the pre-Budget and post-Budget allocations.
He was speaking at the opening of the new offices of the Economic and Social Research Institute in Dublin today.
