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

The controls we have work for nearly all Departments most of the time. The key issue we have had has been in respect of the Department of Health. I have outlined the way I am looking to handle the matter differently in 2019. I make the point, however, that myself and the Minister, Deputy Harris, were successful last year in significantly reducing the need for a Supplementary Estimate. We now need to examine what worked last year and how we can put in place a different approach for next year, and I have outlined that.

Regarding the other two Departments the Deputy mentioned, where I differ from the Deputy is that we can see a significant shift in the number of new homes being delivered. By the end of this year, we will see up to 20,000 new homes being delivered. Next year, we will see that figure increase to 23,000 to 25,000, with between one in four to one in five of those being social homes built directly by the State. There is a clear output from the capital investment in the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government.

In terms of the Department of Education and Skills, the environment that anybody experiences, particularly in primary schools in the morning, shows that this is money that is making a difference to the day-to-day lives of our younger citizens.

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