Section B – The Financial Framework - Government Accounting

B1.2 – Government Expenditure
four-fifths and the Estimate as passed. Conversely, where the
amount of an Estimate passed by the Dáil is less than fourfifths
of the amount appropriated in the preceding year, the
amount authorised for issue is reduced accordingly.
4. The Act does not authorise expenditure on a new service in
anticipation of Dáil approval for that particular service.
5. The Act, as amended, requires the Minister for Finance to lay a
Statement of Authorised Issues before the Dáil every
December. This statement sets out the amounts which the
Minister will be authorised to issue out of the Central Fund for
Supply from the beginning of the next financial year under the
provisions of the Act. The statement simply lists each Vote by
name and number, and indicates the amount of the authorised
issue in each case.
Appropriation Act
6. The annual Appropriation Act gives statutory effect to the
individual Estimates voted by the Dáil for that year. It is passed
by the Oireachtas when consideration of all the Departmental
Estimates (including any Supplementary or Additional
Estimates) has been finalised by the Dáil. As such, this Act is
usually one of the last items of legislative business of the
financial year.
7. The Act definitively appropriates to the particular services the
sums voted by the Dáil (including Supplementary and
Additional Votes) in the interval since the previous year’s Act.
The ambit (Part I) of each Vote, the net amount of authorised
expenditure on the Vote and the amount of Departmental
receipts that may be applied as appropriations-in-aid of the
Vote are all specified in a Schedule to the Appropriation Act.
8. While the subheads of Votes do not appear in the Act, they
represent the heads under which the Votes are accounted for by
PFP 11/08