Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On these matters generally, the Government will continue to engage in what Government should do. I refer to policy formation, programme implementation and communicating with the public. All of those things work together. We cannot get our policies across the line if we are not willing to communicate them and programme implementation itself requires a degree of communication. The Government, therefore, will do all of those things as it always has. It will communicate and form policy and drive the implementation of those policies and programmes. They all marry with one another. They cannot just be separated.

On the national children's hospital overrun, the increased cost this year is anticipated to be about €100 million. Of that, €50 million will come from the Department of Health and the other €50 million will be spread across the capital budgets of all of the other Departments. I am sure that will include my own, although I am not quite sure what sort of capital budget we have for this year. It is important, though, to see that in context. The total capital budget for this year, the amount we have going to invest in our public infrastructure, is up 25%. It is now up to about €7 billion so we have to reprofile, defer or delay, however it is described, about €100 million out of €7,000 million.

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