Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We will see a demand for it once it is advertised.

I want to go back to the issue of the underspend for a moment. Mr. Doyle, as the Accounting Officer, has the job to forecast the budgets, ensure the budget is spent and that the programmes are delivered. In preparation for today's meeting, I went through the documentation. The underspend last year was more than €500 million. That is quite substantial in the middle of a housing crisis. I understand there will be bottlenecks and it will be some problems in delivery but some of these stick out.

The programme for homelessness was the only one that spent in excess of what was budgeted for last year. The budget was €193 million and €242 million was spent, which is a substantial amount. However, in other areas it is a different story. Under mortgage to rent, €23 million was allocated but the spend was just €7.6 million. Only a quarter of the budget was spent. I get regular contacts from constituents trying to access that scheme. I was not aware that only a quarter of the budget was being spent. That is a substantial underspend.

Under housing for people with disability and older people, €2.7 million was allocated but only €1.1 million spent. For energy efficiency, €85 million was allocated but only €64 million was spent. For the shared ownership subsidy, €3 million was allocated but only €1.4 million was spent. For affordable housing, €60 million was allocated and only €8.8 million was spent the last year. For the Croí Cónaithe city scheme, €450 million has been allocated over a number of years. The budget last year was €50 million and an incredible €1.4 million was spent on it. That is just over 2% of the budget. Can Mr. Doyle explain these figures? We are in the middle of a housing crisis. We are all screaming for money to put into housing. Some might say that we could put even more money into some of these areas. It is complete under delivery right across the board by his Department. I am not asking that money be thrown around and spent badly.

The only place where the Department is achieving the targets of actually spending the budget, in fact overspending it, is in homelessness. Every other programme is underspent. As the Accounting Officer, Mr. Doyle mentioned it is complex. Has the whole thing gotten too complex and is there too much bureaucracy? What is going on?