Noel Dempsey (Meath, Fianna Fail)

My Department has a wide-ranging and complex economic remit. It makes a key contribution to growth, competitiveness and balanced regional development. In the context of such a diverse remit, my objective has been to commit and deploy available resources to programmes which contribute to economic competitiveness, sustainability and social and regional balance.

My Department's overall capital investment envelope for 2005 amounts to approximately €128 million. In the lifetime of this Government, investment has funded major successful projects in areas such as fishery harbour infrastructure, coast protection, broadband infrastructure, marine research, port infrastructure and energy conservation.

A particular example of successful project and financial management is the new €50 million development at Killybegs fishery harbour centre. This development represents the largest investment in fishery harbours since the foundation of the State. Killybegs is now a world class fishing harbour with considerable potential in the commercial sphere. The Government's investment in Killybegs is creating new opportunities in support of development in the north west region, an area requiring continued investment.

My Department's capital investment programme also funded the state-of-the-art research vessel, Celtic Explorer, which was delivered within budget and on schedule. This Government's commitment to developing our national marine and maritime research capability has been unparalleled. These achievements demonstrate the public sector's ability to efficiently and effectively manage and deliver on large capital projects, on time and on budget.

Both the Government and I as a Minister welcome the scrutiny of public expenditure by the Comptroller and Auditor General. I fervently believe in the imperative on all of us to secure value for money. The annual report focuses on a small number of projects and programmes within my Department. Voted expenditure as a whole was over €40 billion in 2004. My Department's programme areas referred to in the report account for approximately 1% of departmental income and expenditure. The majority of projects provide value for their money to taxpayers and quality delivery, on time and within budget, in all public infrastructure projects.

Government Departments and the public sector generally do not operate in a vacuum when it comes to the management of public expenditure and the delivery of investment programmes. As outlined by the Minister for Finance, detailed guidelines exist for the appraisal and management of capital investment projects. Rigorous appraisal of capital projects is the key to assuring the Government and the taxpayer that our investments are delivering value for money. The evidence of this value for money is all around.

The Government has introduced significant improvements in respect of budgeting for capital investment. It has established a new system of multi-annual capital budgets designed to improve the allocation and management of such expenditure. The new system provides certainty about funding over a multi-year time scale and has helped increase efficiencies. It underpins better planning, sharper decision making and tighter management of budgets across programmes over the medium term.

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