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

That is a fair point. One of the reasons I announced the capital allocations for many years in advance as early as I did is experience has taught me, particularly when I was Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, that telling a Department in October what capital expenditure it will have available the following year for constructing new projects inevitably means that such funding is not drawn down in the way that it is needed. The reason we announced the capital envelopes for the larger Departments for three to four years in advance is in order that they can better plan. What I will do well in advance of the budget is ensure that every Department can identify what it is delivering behind the massive increase in capital expenditure for next year.

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