Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This has happened in the past according to submissions that Departments made to my Department. For example, the Department of Education and Skills would highlight what it believes to be the main educational priorities, and the same would happen for other Departments. We are looking to operate differently with this capital review process. My Department will outline our long-term infrastructural advantages and what we believe to be our long-term infrastructural deficiencies. In addition to the feedback I will receive from Departments, my objective is for my Department to centrally generate a more formal view on this matter; we will use both of these to fund choices made on additional capital projects or in pulling forward existing capital commitments. It is important that this is done. Each Minister does a fine job of arguing what he or she believes to be in his or Department's interest but it will be helpful to have a more centrally generate view of how we can best allocate the resources of the taxpayer.

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