Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Not so long ago I submitted a question about money allocated in 2016 on a forward payment basis that had not been spent. I cannot understand why, when local authorities are consistently not spending the money allocated to them, the Department does not allocate funds on a use or lose basis. The Department allocated local improvement scheme money in January, for example. Why did it not specify that any money not spent and accounted for by June would be lost and reallocated in July? Now is not a great time of year to make a big push on roads, with dark, wet and frosty days ahead.

The Minister did not answer the question regarding the underspend in the current budget, amounting to €8 million against profile at the end of November. I ask him to explain where that underspend has occurred because it is significant in the context of the current budget. Regarding the capital budget, the position at the end of November was that €45 million out of a total of €88 million had been spent. I ask the Minister to explain the underspend on the current side.

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