Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

That is all right, the Minister of State is busy on other matters. I am pleased that the Government last night agreed to our Whip's request that we would have a short debate.

Everyone accepts the principle of what is involved. The speech the Minister of State, Deputy Harris, just read out is the greatest piece of whitewash I have ever seen from the Government. What is at issue today is the carry-forward of €111.768 million of unspent money. He made no reference whatever to why or in what areas this unspent money occurred. There is no time for questions and answers. It is a technical motion outlining what happened under the old legislation. He did everything but refer to the reason for the carryover.

We accept that such a carryover happens. However, the Government is seeking approval for €111.768 million of unspent capital money to be carried forward into 2016. Shockingly, there is an underspend of €41.078 million by the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Kelly, primarily on housing. Is it any wonder that there is a housing and homeless crisis when after all that happened last year with homelessness and people dying on the streets of the capital city, he was given €41 million and could not spend it on the housing programme? Shame on the Minister and shame on the Government for allowing that to happen. It is no wonder we have a housing crisis.

There was €7 million unspent on flood-risk management by the Office of Public Works, for which the Minister of State, Deputy Harris, has responsibility. There was a further €7 million unspent on the current side, giving a total underspend last year of €14 million on top of the €20 million unspent the previous year. In the past two years the Dáil has voted €34 million that the Minister of State has not spent. It is no wonder that we have a flooding crisis. Of course the Minister of State did not refer to that.

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