Mr. Seamus Coffey:

We share some of the concerns that Mr. Barrett has, but only some. Our systems have improved in capital spending over recent years and decades, primarily driven by developments at EU level, when there were matching funds and various assessments, and undertakings had to be done before the money could be drawn down. In transport, in particular, we tend to get the appropriate matters undertaken, but there are other areas that could be improved. We have assessed the overall capital budget that has been set out, and given the resources the economy is generating, we feel a near doubling of capital spending in quite a short period can be achieved within a sustainable envelope. During the crash, we went to relatively low levels in EU terms and we were barely spending enough for maintenance of our public capital stock, whereas we are now moving to a high level in EU terms and a position where we can add to our public capital stock.

There is no doubt that value for money is important. The IMF did a recent study, the public investment management assessment or PIMA study, which looked at capital spending in Ireland. It raised questions about whether we have been getting value for money, but we believe there is capacity to increase capital spending and to do it in a sustainable fashion. The problem will be if one commits to increasing capital spending and then tries to reduce taxes, increase public sector pay or increase social welfare supports at the same time. Doing everything is not sustainable. However, the plans that have been set out for capital spending can be achieved.