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

Only that I do not want to gum up the Minister's Department with unnecessary work, I would love to submit a freedom of information request in respect of the assurances the Minister got in June, July, August, September and October last year that all the money would be spent by all the Departments.

He has ended up with an underspend of €700 million. I know what happens within Departments, with each principal officer being asked whether he or she will be able to spend the money. For fear it might be taken from them and allocated to somewhere more productive, they will all assure the Minister they can spend the money. Then it is too late and there is a big heap of money in November that cannot be spent. In the meantime, ordinary people need things done urgently but this game goes on year after year. Even the profiling is skewed towards the back end to cover this particular hobby that goes on within Departments.

What steps will the Minister take to make sure that when officials tell him they can spend the money, they really will be able to spend it? How will he ensure that, this year, we do not have the scandal of €700 million not being spent for the good of the people within the calendar year?

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