Spending in the areas of justice and transport will be reduced as the impact of a new levy takes hold across Government. The cost-saving measure is being imposed to offset a €640 million overrun in the education sector.An initial breakdown of the savings being sought suggests the Department of Justice has been asked to generate savings of close to €40 million next year. The money is to be clawed back under an initiative proposed by Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers. It was approved by Cabinet earlier this month. The levy plan has generated a backlash among some Ministers and department staff, who believe they are being penalised for the failures of others to live within their budgets. Some areas of public spending, such as pensions, are being shielded from the new measures.The Government has not published an official table on the level of savings being sought from each department. However, it has confirmed the amount will range from 0.1 per cent to 1.4 per cent of estimated current expenditure allocations for 2027.Some details have emerged from a number of Ministers in response to parliamentary questions tabled by Labour Party finance spokesman Ged Nash.Figures show the top-level levy of 1.4 per cent is being applied to the Department of Transport. It is understood this equates to about €18 million the department would have to come up with in savings.The Department of Foreign Affairs is also being asked to make savings close to the maximum level of 1.4 per cent. It said, based on 2026 allocations, a decrease of 1.37 per cent overall was being sought, with the intention of applying the decrease to the 2027 budget allocation.In his answer to a parliamentary question, Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien, said: “My department has been advised of a levy of 1.4 per cent in 2027 on current expenditure, with the exception of pensions, as the distribution of the levy has been designed to protect pension funding across all votes.”Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan said his department had been advised “a levy of €39 million will apply to current expenditure in the Justice Vote Group in 2027”. However, he said pay in the justice, home affairs and migration area was being protected in the application of the levy. “The levy of €39 million equates to 0.7 per cent of my vote group’s current gross-expenditure allocation of €5.948 billion for 2026,” said O’Callaghan.Savings of €5 million are being sought in the Department of Housing, while the Department of Public Expenditure has been asked to come up with €10 million under the levy.Minister for Enterprise and Employment Peter Burke said: “On April 23rd, my department was informed by the Department of Public Expenditure that a levy of €8 million will apply to current expenditure in my department’s vote group in 2027. This equates to just under 1.3 per cent of the overall current budget of €629 million as published in the 2026 revised estimate volume."About half of all Ministers did not provide details of the level of savings being sought.Nash told The Irish Times the replies from Ministers were “inconsistent and concerning”. “They have simply refused to confirm, with some exceptions, the percentage budget adjustments contained in the correspondence received from the public expenditure Ministers,” he said. “These are public documents and this is a matter of serious public interest. “In truth, the manner in which all of this has been handled represents a failure of accountability and a snub to the Dáil. This is not an abstract issue, as it goes right to the heart of how we plan public spending and how our public services are funded and run. There are real-world implications here.”