Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Chairman's was the line of inquiry I was going to pursue myself. It sits within the context this year of a projected underspend at this stage of €247 million in the Department. Communities and transport sector workers throughout the country are to the pin of their collar, whether they are in DAA, Aer Lingus or Dublin Bus. They look at their industry and are concerned for their own futures. There are areas crying out for the types of infrastructure and services the Minister says he wants to deliver, but we are facing a massive underspend. I appreciate there are significant additional funding needs and Covid is a challenge, but is there a commitment that that funding of €247 million that will be underspent will be made available again next year? Will it be repurposed or assigned to the same projects as this year? What were the challenges? Was it just Covid or were there other challenges, such as the workforce or the supply chain, that meant it was difficult to spend the money? Will he be able to spend it next year? Will there be an opportunity to direct it towards major capital projects such as MetroLink, the Navan rail line or the western rail corridor, that is, communities crying out for these services?