Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will look at three factors. The first is whether the projects individual Government Departments decide to go ahead with are still within budget, that is, still in line with the original expectations set for the project. Second, I will consider whether the guidelines have led to an increase in the speed at which decisions are made and projects brought to tender. From my engagement with my officials and with other Departments when we were making these changes, I understand that the improvement in speed that could be gained may only be a matter of several months. However, that is still worth getting if it gets somebody into a home more quickly, a wastewater treatment plant up and running more quickly or a flood relief scheme in place in time and working more quickly. The final factor I will be looking at may go beyond the change in the infrastructure guidelines. I will be considering whether there is an improvement in the number of companies tendering for projects, particularly smaller projects outside of our cities. They are the three things I will be looking at.

See this speech in context