Mr. Kenneth Spratt:

I might call on Mr. Doocey to discuss Connecting Ireland and how we will assess it.

There was a great deal in the Deputy's questions. We will have some carry-over for next year. At the start of this year, which is the first full calendar year of this Government, we had €360 million to spend on active travel. There was a bit of catching up to do by local authorities in recruiting human resources to do this work. Our outturn will get close to that figure by the end of the year. There will be a push between now and then. We are spending significantly more on active travel this year compared with last year and a huge amount compared with two years ago. However, there has been a struggle in recruiting the capacity to deliver active travel.

In recent years, we have done well in terms of not having underspends. Our spending is lumpy and quite a great deal goes out between now and the end of the year, but we have done well in handing back very small percentages. Last year or the year before, it was a fraction of 1% of our total budget. We are not bad when it comes to underspending. We will have a little underspend this year, but we are trying to ensure that it is as small as possible.

Regarding local authorities' culture and resources, it is now clear that there is €360 million per year for the next number of years to be spent on active travel. That is more or less guaranteed and ring-fenced. Therefore, local authorities know that they can recruit, ramp up and roll out. While this year will be good, the Deputy will see us getting better and better and getting every euro out the door over the coming years. We are working closely with the local authorities to ensure that happens.

There are always issues with the planning system. The Deputy will be aware that a review, which the Attorney General will be well resourced to carry out, is under way to examine the areas where there are not so much legislative impediments, but where legislation can be improved to ensure that, when it comes to the roll-out of important infrastructure, the planning system delivers in the way it should and in a way that protects the rights of people who want to object and have their voices heard. That review will be sharp and focused and done in a relatively short period.

As to whether we have enough staff, all Departments and agencies have sought significant additional resources in their Estimates campaigns with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. We sought a significant number of additional people for ourselves and all of our agencies. We did not get all that we looked for, but we did okay. We were also allowed to capitalise the human resources costs on some of our larger projects. While the projects were not given additional current funding, they can use their capital allocations for contractors who will be required for short periods.

The Irish context is always a challenge. We are the second or third least densely populated country in the world. That is a challenge in the provision of public services. We will need to work hard on the design of Connecting Ireland. I will hand over to Mr. Doocey in that regard.