Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Just as the first cuckoo heralds the spring, one knows there is an election in the air because from near and far across every constituency, one hears the rustling of wads of taxpayers' cash. It is that time when the Minister blows the dust from his wallet, the rust is scraped from the locks of the Government's treasure chests and the Minister's largesse flows freely, or so he would have Members believe. In 2008, capital expenditure reached its peak at €9 billion, and by the time the Minister came into government in 2011, capital expenditure was at €4.5 billion. Over the term of the present Government it fell steadily, reaching €3.3 billion in 2014. The Government's plan, which pledges €27 billion over six years, envisages an increase from €3.8 billion in 2016 to €5.4 billion in 2021, which leaves one with an average of €4.5 billion per annum. The Government is getting back to the level of expenditure it inherited when it took office, and consequently, in real terms, the Minister is doing no more than restoring-----

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