Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate Deputy Danny Healy-Rae on his excellent grasp of what someone described as "retail politics". My answers will be more in the wholesale area, telling him what we can do on a national level to ameliorate the types of problems he listed. The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, because of the progress we have made in advancing the economic recovery and as we find ourselves in a position to balance the books for 2018, has announced a 73% increase in funding for capital programmes over the next four years. That will allow for a significant increase in capital expenditure in the coming years. We effectively had a lost decade where many badly needed investments could not be made, including in roads, bridges and other infrastructural projects as well as in health, education and housing. We are now in a position to make those investments, but their selection will not be made on the basis of the political hue of a particular Minister or Minister of State. It will be done on the basis of each programme being evaluated in a fair and reasonable way, in comparison with similar cases throughout the country. That is the approach that must be taken in prioritising expenditure which, fortunately, will be much increased in the years ahead. We will have to weigh up all our various obligations in making decisions.

Deputy Eamon Ryan alerted us yesterday to the obligations in respect of climate change, which also must inform the selections we make in respect of capital. I believe I can say that we are looking at a period when there will be increased resources for many of the causes that the Deputy put forward. I cannot make commitments to the individual projects, meritorious and all as they may be, and I am sure the Deputy can understand that.

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