Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 11, 18 and 20 together. An underspend for quarter 1 is quite normal and is largely related to the timing of expenditure within the year. It is anticipated that all spending allocations for capital projects will be used by the end of the year.

The first quarter underspend is primarily in four areas: greenways, EV grant schemes and infrastructure, public transport investment and national roads. Expenditure of €6.47 million was profiled for greenways in the first quarter by TII and €0.291 million drawn down. The first quarter underspend is partly due to the timing of claims. In addition, a number of schemes are behind on anticipated spend profiles, including Athlone Bridge, Turraun to Shannon Harbour and the south-east greenway. It is expected that expenditure will increase as the year progresses and any underspend at year end will be absorbed by the strong level of demand under the active travel cycling and walking programme.

For EV grants and infrastructure, €26.171 million was profiled and €16.442 million drawn down by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI. The SEAI is reporting good levels of demand for the EV grant scheme and it is not expected that there will be a significant underspend on the EV grants scheme or on EV infrastructure by year end.

On heavy rail and public transport investment, €125.26 million was profiled and €73.323 million was drawn down. The reasons for the first quarter underspend included assessment of charging infrastructure for the new DART+ fleet, the timing of payments for delivery of the remaining intercity rail cars; the timing of the procurement process for the client partner contract for MetroLink; in the BusConnects depot electrification programme; delays in the planning approval process for four of the BusConnects Dublin core bus corridors and in fleet acquisition for Dublin Bus and regional fleets. A modest forecast underspend in public transport will be absorbed in heavy rail investment.

In national roads investment, €42.537 million was profiled and €14.27 million drawn down. At the start of the year, TII’s reserves for roads projects stood at €89.6 million, compared to the €20 million reserve level recommended by its board. The reason for the underspend is due to TII using excess reserves in the first quarter. TII had factored the reserves into its expenditure plans for 2023 and expects expenditure to return to profile as the year progresses.

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