Matt Shanahan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I have significant concerns regarding the absence of publicly available data on Government spending, a matter I raised previously with the Tánaiste. In particular, capital spending is a black hole. We see the money going in - some €87 billion this year, €12 billion of which is on capital projects with €165 billion heading out the door by 2030. We see bits and pieces of the outcomes - often just the stuff that gets attention, the calamities or the patronage. How can this House provide parliamentary oversight of public spending when appropriate standardised spending data is not provided by Departments? Budget 2023 is being framed at the moment and this Dáil knows virtually nothing of the choices and plans. Parliamentary questions on spending are answered glibly if they are answered at all. Ministers usually pivot away from the questions asked. The Committee of Public Accounts and the Comptroller and Auditor General only provide look-backs to identify failures in process. Our national economic dialogue bizarrely operates with virtually no standardised data. This House offers benedictions rather than debate over Voted expenditure. The capital tracker, which is a welcome gesture towards better data, has withered becoming more opaque with every subsequent version.

It is simply impossible to see where public money goes. Vast parts of Ireland feel now that they are frozen out of a fair share of capital spending, such as in the midlands, the north east, the west and my home region in the southeast. It is these regions that have turned their backs on the traditional parties of Government.

My personal analysis suggests that the bulk of discretionary spending is being funnelled into Dublin and Cork, which are homes to almost all of our Ministers. Do not tell me that I am wrong, or name check for me some projects that are happening in my neck of the woods. Show me where the totality of money is going. Publish proper, granular spatial data on public spending, particularly on capital projects. If not live or future-looking data, the least we should be able to see is historical data on completed projects. With €12 billion of capital expenditure this year, the southeast should be getting €1 billion. Waterford should be getting €330 million. With the data available to me, I estimate that the whole south east is just getting €330 million, which is a third of its due. Please do not tell me that I am wrong or that I am incapable of understanding economic data. Show me the regional breakdown of the €12 billion in capital spending. Without the data, we just look continuously to the think rule of outputs in our hospitals, higher education, our public transport, our roads, our airports and our urban infrastructure. Why can ordinary people in this country not see where the money goes?

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