The Premier's office and the Tourism Ministry have asked for a total of $2.32 million to cover extra expenditure, it was revealed yesterday.

The Cabinet Office has asked for $1.31 million in extra cash, while David Allen's Tourism Ministry is looking for more than $1 million to cover a budget overspend this year.

The looked-for cash boost is part of a near-$5 million supplementary estimate tabled by Finance Minister Eugene Cox in the House of Assembly yesterday. And last night Shadow Finance Minister Grant Gibbons said the supplementary -- to be debated in two weeks -- was more evidence of Government running riot with the public purse.

But Mr. Cox defended the cash requests -- and insisted the money was vital to boost tourism and the Island's image overseas. He said: "The Cabinet Office has been footing the bill for many different departments.

"People get cut up because the Premier has an aide -- but the money is being spent on things the Minister of Tourism is doing, for example.'' And he also cited trips to a world economic forum in Switzerland and a visit to international economic watchdogs the OECD in Paris earlier this year as another reason for the extra cash being needed.

Mr. Cox added: "There are a number of projects, but I don't want to get into it just now. I will discuss it in two weeks' time. We will see major projects in Tourism Department -- we're trying to get tourism back on the footing it was years ago.'' Dr. Gibbons said, however: "After the promise that there would be no increase in taxes in the run-up to the Budget, to have a 25 percent increase in the revenue from land tax, the real question was why that was necessary -- that still hasn't been answered.

"Our worst fears have come true here -- it is difficult to comment on these individual amounts. But the Tourism Ministry is looking a million dollars over budget for promotion and I think that's because of the extravagant overseas trips he has been taking and the number of people who have gone.

"There's also more than $1.3 million for Cabinet Office and the Ministry of Finance is looking for more than a quarter of a million dollars. Marketing and promotion may have something to do with excessive travel which is going on.'' Dr. Gibbons added: "The way this information is provided is not transparent and we will wait for these items which are debatable for the Minister to explain. Until then, it's difficult to see exactly where this money is going.'' But Mr. Cox said Government was being criticised for bringing supplementary estimates to Parliament before the cash was spent -- something the previous administration did not do.

He added: "I have been bringing numerous supplementaries to the House that they had spent without getting the authorisation -- sometimes they were three or four years later. What we're doing is following the directive from the Auditor to the former Government.

"We want Parliamentary approval -- including the Opposition's comments -- on money we want to spend.'' Eugene Cox Grant Gibbons