Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
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11. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the reason local authorities were not consulted or asked to submit their views regarding his Department's review of the capital programme 2016-2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26102/17]

Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
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This question relates to the review of the capital plan due to be published in September. Why were local authorities not consulted when the review was initiated and why was it left to them to make submissions as part of the public consultation?

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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Submissions in relation to the mid-term review and the additional funding available were sought by my Department in January and have now been received.

Submissions were not sought at that time by my Department directly from local authorities as we do not allocate funding directly to local authorities nor was it envisaged that the review would seek to determine the allocation of Exchequer resources to individual local authorities.

The allocation from central government to local authorities is determined by the relevant Government Department with responsibility for particular aspects of infrastructural spending, for example, housing and urban regeneration and transport investment.  The assessment of the requirement for increased capital expenditure by local authorities is, therefore, first and foremost a matter for the relevant Government Department.

The short answer to this is that many of the infrastructural needs that local authorities will be raising are raised, I expect, by the Government Department that has responsibility for that area. All that being said, across the process, 12 different local authorities did make submissions. The Deputy will be pleased to note that one of them was Donegal County Council.

Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
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I know Donegal County Council made a submission because the CEO told us. However, that was as part of the public consultation rather than as a consultee on the actual review itself. It is remiss of the Department not to ask local authorities to formally make submissions. Much is made by Government about the fact that local authorities are not spending money and are not delivering on infrastructure projects, in particular on housing. The way this review is handled makes a lie of that fact, as local authorities do not have responsibility because they do not get the money. The money goes through the parent Department. That is part of the problem. As the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, perhaps the Minister should look at that to see how local authorities can be accommodated in that way and then try to make them more responsible for the money. The fact is they do not get the money and so are not ask to consult, as things stands.

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I do not think the process we have put in place makes a lie of us. The way in which we handle expenditure is by making the funding available to Government Departments, as the Deputy has just said. Government Departments either allocate that funding to local authorities or instigate work on their behalf. The process we put in place was publicly advertised. If a local authority wanted to make a submission to us, it was entitled to, and 12 of them did. The needs that all local authorities will have is articulated to my Department by the Departments that have responsibility for the particular policy areas. It has to be done like that because otherwise we will end up in a situation where we will not be able to achieve co-ordination. In particular, we will not be able to put in place infrastructure projects that stretch across local authorities as opposed to being confined within them. All that being said, 12 different local authorities made submissions.

Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
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As 12 local authorities made submissions, what will be the status of the consideration given to those submissions? Will they be treated the same as the submission made by "Joe Public"? Obviously, the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government will decide on how money is allocated. What will be the consideration and status given to the submissions made?

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government will be the deciding body on how it handles funding between the local authorities for which it is responsible for. That being said, I always find it helpful to see submissions like this, and I will read them. It allows me to understand whether there are any particular projects out there or any particular needs that could make a difference to a particular county or region that I should be aware of. I will look at these submissions, including the one from the Deputy's county. As I said on a number of occasions, I am well aware of the need for us to respond across the north west by increasing investment in infrastructure in the context of Brexit and the economic challenges it will pose to all the communities the Deputy represents.