Jack Chambers: Education overspend will force change in other departments' budgets

Department of Education overspend of between €600m and €700m came to light in March

Public expenditure minister Jack Chambers said: 'In fairness, most government departments are sticking within their parameters and their allocations.' File picture: Patrick Bolger

Government departments will have to change their spending plans because of an overspend in education, the public expenditure minister has said.

It came to light in March that there is a projected overspend at the Department of Education of between €600m and €700m.

Changes to the Government’s budgetary practices mean that overspends are no longer covered by supplementary budgets but must instead be absorbed by other departments. 

Last year, overspends amounted to around €4.1bn and the HSE is over its allocation by €250m in the first three months of 2026.

Speaking on RTÉ's This Week programme, Jack Chambers said that the Government must take a collective, rather than departmental, view of overspends. 

He confirmed that he has told departments that they may need to cut their expected spending this year by between 0.1% and 1.4% as a result of the additional demands.

“As a government, we set our overall allocation — so, for 2026, we’ll be spending about €118bn,” Mr Chambers said.

When new expenditure pressure emerges, or a new priority emerges, it's important government takes a collective approach to that. 

“And efficiency levies are a standard part of many other administrations globally, some don't have the level of economic growth that Ireland has. And I think that's why it's important in the context of our medium-term fiscal and structural plan that we apply that levy across the board.” 

Mr Chambers said that the levy being applied to government departments will not be a universal rate and that he would work to protect frontline staff and social welfare from cuts, but that all departments would be expected to find efficiencies.

'Levy will cover €464m'

Mr Chambers said that €464m of the overspend in education would be covered by the levy and that his government wanted to pay for more special education, but that savings would have to be found elsewhere.

"As a government, we want to respond to the increased demand for special education, hiring more frontline staff in that area from September onwards, and that's part of trying to moderate the overall growth and current expenditure," he said. 

In fairness, most government departments are sticking within their parameters and their allocations.

Cabinet approved additional funding for the Department of Education last month in a bid to address its projected overspend. 

Mr Chambers said that the Government is working on an "escalation framework" in the event that departments do not keep within their budgets which could lead to the "withdrawal or sanction of additional expansion of expenditure that could affect their overall pay and staffing within their within their sector or their department".

“We're very clear that the new escalation framework that we're developing anchors fiscal discipline and expenditure control across government because the consequence of not doing that is a level of expenditure which won't be sustainable in the long term.”