Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

All available allocations will be spent on my capital. I will guarantee the Deputy that. As I said in my reply, almost €35 million in capital was allocated in October and November. The Deputy is quite correct that I have reallocated resources required including the senior alert scheme, libraries and the LIS scheme. I have reallocated money to that already and am confident that my capital budget will be spent at the end of this year. I can assure the Deputy in that regard. I know he spoke about last year. We have to remember that this Department is 16 months in existence. I want to take the opportunity to put on record that the Department had two moves. The Department was set up in July of last year and I am very proud of the hard work done by my officials, my new Secretary General, my assistant secretaries and all my staff, both in Ballina and in Dublin. I want to compliment the staff on the work they have put into setting up this Department - I am very proud of them. I would go so far as to say it is a Department that should be kept for the future. There is a fantastic team there now. I have no doubt and can assure the Deputy that I will have my capital allocation spent by the end of this year. A colleague of the Deputy's used to have a lot of sleepless nights about underspend. The Deputy should go back over his record; it is no wonder he had sleepless nights.

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