Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will take this to begin with. I thank the Deputy for those observations and I agree with much of what he said.

What I will say, however, is that in recent months, in finding my feet in the Department, I have come to the realisation that there are a lot of very good reports written that do not get the attention they deserve. I would point to the spending review papers, for example. Since 2017 more than 100 spending reviews, including 25 last year, have been completed and published. They look to the very point the Deputy raises. We spend all this money in different areas and do we look back and see how it worked out? Can we learn lessons? Did we get the outcomes we were trying to achieve? I urge this committee and the respective line committees to undertake work with the spending review papers because there is a wealth of information there. Similarly, the public service performance report is published annually, normally in spring. Again, there is a huge amount of information there which measures performance. Ultimately, from my perspective as Minister with responsibility for public spending, it is important we measure outcomes because that should inform better decision-making going forward. I would really welcome any feedback from the Deputy or the committee on the language, the terminology and the presentation format in the various reports we publish because we need to make them as understandable, meaningful and accessible as possible.

As for the north and the west, we are currently undertaking a review of the national development plan, NDP, as the Deputy will be aware. That is out for public consultation until 19 February. One of the objectives is to make sure that the aim of balanced regional development is progressed. I encourage all stakeholders in the north and the west to engage in that process. Over the course of the coming months we will finalise essentially the new NDP for the next decade, and there is a fantastic opportunity there to have the voice of the north and the west heard. If Deputy Canney needs any information on any of the capital spending programmes and is not getting information he believes should be made available, I ask him to contact my Department and we will make sure that whatever information is at our disposal is made available to him.