Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I also welcome the Minister. Does he accept that Ireland has one of the lowest ratios of public expenditure to GDP among the 28 member states of the European Union? In that context and to take up the Minister's previous comments, during the lifetime of the previous Government the story on capital expenditure certainly was that much of it was dictated by demographics and population growth. Happily, as a country, there are many additional young children, as well as a lot of older people. While that is really positive for the country, it obviously requires expensive investment in education, social protection measures and a whole set of areas, including the health service. I am upset to see school programmes in areas set out in the census as having the highest rates of population growth in the country and possibly in western Europe apparently being delayed and long-fingered, albeit, I hasten to add, in the most polite way possible. Does the Minister have or can he provide members with a list of all the projects now being long-fingered? I ask because I believe this is the case having contacted quite a lot of people about the matter.

What is evident in respect of the provision of facilities for older people is that development of the projects is being strung out to such an extent that we may only be at or near planning stage by 2021.

I wish to refer to a specific issue in the context of the Government making many comments on the need for better resources and facilities for the Garda to fight crime. I believe the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform is the lead Minister for the Office of Public Works. I am shocked and horrified that everything regarding the Garda centre of intelligence operations located in Dublin city, in Harcourt Street, is entirely up in the air. People working there do not know when they are leaving or staying. As the Minister is aware, there are long-standing plans to provide a replacement headquarters, but as far as I can discern, it will not happen any time soon. This is a time of incredible activity on the part of criminal gangs, both armed and unarmed, as well as on the part of ordinary criminals in terms of the use of highly sophisticated methods in carrying out robberies and engaging in fraud. I ask the Minister to comment on this matter today, if possible, or perhaps later.

Another issue that has not been discussed thus far is the question of our support as a society for endowment of the arts. There was an endowment of the arts by the previous Government in the commemorations of the 1916 Rising, which was fit and proper. Will the Minister agree to continue that endowment for the broader arts sector in 2017? As a country, we are very happy to have achieved such great success with various tourism projects. Much of the attraction of Ireland for both capital investment and tourists has to do with our strong standing in the arts.

The committee will have to reach conclusions and I will be asking my fellow committee members to support this because the arts community now supports it. Will the Minister agree to do that and continue the endowment by the previous Government into this Government, particularly the capital funding for the arts?

With regard to the Apple tax case, does the Minister or his officials have a figure or an estimate on the likely level of contribution Ireland will have to make to the European Union, without the Apple judgment, as I believe we are about to become a net contributor, and what will be the likely impact of the Apple judgment in relation to that? I have one further question which I will put to the Minister after he has addressed these questions.