John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Office of Public Works has a possible overrun on the Leinster House project and I understand the reason. That is not the question here. The OPW has an overrun on the €15 million and construction inflation may kick in on that overrun.

There is also a request, it is presumed from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, to cut back OPW works to the tune of €3 million. The State has told Departments to make cutbacks and Deputy McGrath asked how the OPW was going to achieve this €3 million cutback. The Minister of State has told us there will be a delay in the OPW starting some projects and perhaps the savings will be achieved that way. If that is to be the case, the OPW will not have spent all of its money in 2019. Will the OPW be handing back money to the Department in 2019? The Minister of State must have anticipated in the context of the budget that he was going to spend all of the money allocated to the OPW in 2019. If, however, all the money the Minister of State estimated for spending is not to be spent in 2019 because projects are to be delayed in starting or in the amount of money spent on them as they go along, then all of the allocated money will not be spent. The Minister of State is saying that he will not spend all of the money in 2019 but that there will only be a few weeks in the difference. The overrun on the works to Leinster House must also be factored in and whatever else might happen to that cost because of construction inflation. In examining his figures, and knowing the Cabinet was to meet this morning, where has the Minister of State identified hard figures to cut back the €3 million? It will not all be achieved by just staggering the start-----