Minister McGrath publishes Mid-Year Expenditure Report 2022

The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Michael McGrath TD, today, Monday, July 25th, published the Mid-Year Expenditure Report (MYER) 2022. The publication of the MYER is a key milestone in the budgetary calendar. Following on from the Summer Economic Statement (SES) published earlier this month, it sets out a clear and detailed view of the baseline expenditure position in advance of the upcoming Estimates process.  

This year’s budget preparations take place against a backdrop of considerable economic and social challenge. The 2022 MYER provides an update on the expenditure trends to end-June. It also provides detail on the use of non-core temporary expenditure to respond to the emerging challenges in 2022 including the continued response to Covid-19, the implementation of cost of living measures and the provision of humanitarian supports to people arriving from Ukraine.

The report outlines the short-term adjustment to the Medium Term Expenditure Framework in response to the challenging economic context. It sets out increased expenditure growth rates for 2022 and 2023 of 6 and 6.5 per cent respectively. The fiscal strategy for Budget 2023 is seeking to balance the need to protect public services without feeding into further inflationary pressures. The overall parameters for Budget 2023 provide for a total package of €6.7 billion, with just over €1 billion for tax measures and almost €5.7 billion for expenditure measures over 2022 and 2023. 

The 6.5 per cent increase in core expenditure for 2023 must accommodate a range of priorities. It also means ensuring that spending delivers sustainable improvements in public services and infrastructure. This will require decisions to be made across Government and prioritisation of demands. A range of expenditure reforms have a role to play in supporting this process and ensure spending delivers efficiency, effectiveness and value for money. The report provides an update on some of these reforms including the publication of analysis through the Spending Review and measurement of progress through the use of Well-Being Framework and the development of Green Budgeting. 

Commenting on the publication of the MYER, Minister McGrath said:

“Today I am publishing the Mid-Year Expenditure Report 2022 a key report in preparation for Budget 2023. 

"The Government’s strategy is to deliver sustainable expenditure growth. In response to the challenging economic context, a short-term increase in the level of expenditure is required to protect public services and respond to the cost of living pressures. 

"The Government is acutely aware of the cost of living pressures facing households at the present time. Measures introduced in Budget 2022 and earlier this year represent a significant intervention on the part of the Government to help households deal with the rising cost of living.

"Budget 2023 will complement the measures already introduced and focus on further cost of living supports with a core expenditure package of €5.7 billion, €400 million of which will be allocated in 2022 for the early implementation of new measures. This will see core gross voted expenditure reaching €85.8 billion in 2023. With a further €4.5 billion available to continue our response to non-core challenges such as Covid-19, Brexit and providing humanitarian assistance to Ukrainian arrivals to Ireland, total gross voted expenditure will reach €90.3 billion next year. 

"Overall, this strategy will allow us to continue responding to the challenges facing our economy and society while also supporting continued investment in important public services”.