Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

I have set out the position. Very few Ministers are directly sending items for procurement or are directly involved in the procurement process. When this emerged, the facts were established. The signage is being replaced at no additional cost. Ensuring value for money and financial management are critical in all elements of public expenditure management.

At a wider level, we are reviewing public financial procedures to strengthen accountability and fiscal discipline across government when it comes to the medium-term fiscal and structural plans. Public servants take this very seriously. To give balance to much of what is said here, there are many good projects delivered by people who believe in our public service and do deliver, in many cases on budget and on time, across many sectors in our economy. It is important to balance that with the concerns the Deputy has raised over the need to deliver quicker. A bigger part of the infrastructure conversation is the need to address risk aversion in decision-making, whereby we have lists but not delivery. Better risk appetite regarding capital infrastructure will be a part of the reforms we will have to introduce.

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