Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)

The Deputy will be aware that we have had to significantly scale back and reprioritise public expenditure in order to meet the pressing need to restore our finances to a sustainable path. As part of this, we undertook a major review of our capital programme. We have had to focus on what we must do rather than what we would wish to do. This has involved looking at projects in which we have already made considerable investment and evaluating whether it would be more cost effective to proceed or defer them until a later stage. We intend that projects deferred will ultimately be delivered when public finances have been restored.

It is important to ensure that capital programmes and projects are properly managed and rolled out. This requires that public works are appropriately planned and delivered. The guidelines for the appraisal and management of capital expenditure proposals in the public sector set out the steps that Departments and agencies need to take in planning for their capital projects. Departments must ensure that they undertake proper appraisal and planning and that costs in this regard are appropriately controlled.

Last week, the Government announced the new capital envelopes for Departments for the period 2012-2016. Departments are now engaged in reformulating their project delivery schedules and project planning processes in accordance with their new financial allocations. In this context, Departments are also carefully considering the range and scope of planning that are appropriate and justifiable to meet our likely infrastructure needs over the five year horizon and beyond. Obviously, we must think beyond the five year horizon.

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