Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 5 April 2017

Committee on Budgetary Oversight

Engagement on Overall Fiscal Position: Discussion

2:00 pm

Mr. Robert Watt:

-----around road maintenance, which is fine. I am making the general point that, if one considers infrastructure in its totality, it should be acknowledged that there are positive aspects.

We should recognise the fact there has been significant investment in parts of our infrastructure which are now yielding significant benefits and providing fantastic services to people. That is the point I was making. I am not suggesting for one minute there is not a need to increase investment in the road network. Of course, we are familiar with the numbers. We know the debate. Those debates are ongoing and they reflect the fact we have a fairly dispersed population and an enormous road network, which is expensive to maintain and to improve. The debate is taking place on where the funding goes over the next while. There is a consultation process and we are engaging in how the funding should be allocated.