Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

What I am really concerned about is the deficit that is already there in terms of infrastructure, particularly in the region I come from, and the under-investment in the west and north-west region. Having not accounted for inflation in the way we do, I am concerned about the hole that is there and the cumulative impact it would have. That was my question. I see now in my own constituency projects being delayed, such as school projects that were promised and that people thought were already over the line. Now suddenly a lot of them seem to have stalled. I am concerned that because of the impact of inflation, we are delaying projects further, not for any other reason such as planning permission or anything else but because we are not spending what we need to spend. I completely understand about heating up or increasing inflation and the need to manage that. The report made recommendations in terms of having shovel-ready projects that are not labour-intensive and all those things, so there are many investments that can be made and that need to be made under the NDP.

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