Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I assume the Deputy is primarily referring to the delays in delivering capital projects. There is a balance to be struck between ensuring that we have proper oversight mechanisms in place, on the one hand, and, on the other, the speed of execution and getting projects on the ground. In the last couple of years, we have had significant underspends on the capital budget. While Covid was a significant contributory factor to that, there are other reasons and some of it is about process and the length of time it takes for a project to be delivered from conception to actually getting contractors on the ground. We are looking at the public spending code at the moment to see what opportunities there are to streamline the processes and to see if different stages can be done in parallel, rather than having to be done sequentially, for example. We are also seeking to devolve more responsibility and authority directly to line Departments in an effort to speed up the process, recognising there is that balance to be struck. We have to protect the interests of taxpayers and make sure we get value for money. At the end of the day, we want to deliver the national development plan and get our capital projects completed.

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