Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Yesterday's belated apology from the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, was accompanied by a list of projects for this year that will be delayed. The Taoiseach must admit that it is beyond bizarre that the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform claimed that the overspend is serious but that no project anywhere will be cut. Is this the first time in recorded history where €400 million is taken out of a fixed budget but everything will still get done? Can the Taoiseach say when he will be updating the rest of the figures impacted by the overrun? It is not just this year as it affects the entire national development plan.

Last year the Taoiseach toured the country with his Ministers and promoted projects which will not be finished for a decade or more. It went on repeatedly and the Taoiseach had supposedly allocated money to them.

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