Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister and his officials. As he said, this is only a technical Supplementary Estimate, but why is this additional money required? The briefing documentation indicates that the project was coming in on time and on budget, so why then is there a need for a Supplementary Estimate? Would this not have been envisaged at the beginning of the year and included in the original Estimates? I know we are only putting in €1,000 and the money is coming from TII, so the arrangements are technical in nature, but why is the additional €12.5 million now needed?

With the Chairman's forbearance, regarding the fact that this is a Supplementary Estimate, I wish to use the opportunity to ask the Minister why the head of networks operations for TII this week wrote to all the chief executives of all the city and county councils and advised:

At this point, it is envisaged that the 2018 ordinary maintenance allocations to local authorities will be reduced by approx 30% from 2017 levels. This reduction, however, will be mitigated somewhat by the availability of additional funds which can be drawn down by the geo app but will nonetheless be significant at approximately 17% overall.

In the context of the Supplementary Estimates, why is TII sending out such a letter?

It begins the letter by saying it has recently been notified by the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport that the overall national road expenditure budget for 2018 will be reduced by approximately 15% compared to 2017 levels. I am conscious it is not overly related to the matters under discussion today but it is relevant in the context of Estimates for the Department and I ask the Minister to address it today.