Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 116: To ask the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources the number of public servants in his Department who are employed full-time on the assessment, procurement, project management and delivery of infrastructure projects covered by the public capital programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12864/05]

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 117: To ask the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources if the Government considered redeploying public servants to assist with the procurement and project management of infrastructure projects; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12876/05]

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 118: To ask the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources if, in view of the fact that the public capital programme is equivalent to 7.5% of GNP or some 21% of total Government spending, he is satisfied that enough public servants in his Department are working in a full time capacity on infrastructure projects; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12888/05]

Noel Dempsey (Meath, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 116 to 118, inclusive, together.

The infrastructure project areas in the public capital programme within the Department's remit are shown in the following table. The assessment, procurement, project management and delivery of infrastructure projects are carried out by my Department and the bodies under its aegis in line with relevant public financial provisions and conditions, including EU requirements. The management of infrastructure projects in the public capital programme within the Department's remit is undertaken variously by staff in the Department, the commercial State bodies and the non-commercial State bodies. The level of resource deployment depends on a number of considerations such as the nature of the project, funding conditions and management requirements. The assessment, procurement, project management and delivery of infrastructure projects are conducted by staff as part of their overall roles agreed with management, which reflect Government policy, strategy statements and the business plans of the Department and the agencies concerned.

In some cases staff are working mainly or predominantly on infrastructure project delivery. Any review of the scope for redeploying additional public servants to particular infrastructure projects would need to be based on objective business cases and in the context of Government policy on public service numbers. Staff deployment within my Department is kept under review in the light of Government programme priorities, the national development plan, the Department's strategy statements, business plans, organisational priorities and other factors including the decentralisation programme. The multi-annual capital framework, which includes a facility to plan for carry-over of unspent Exchequer capital to the following year, is designed to give Departments and agencies more certainty in relation to available resources over the medium term and more flexibility to plan and manage their capital programmes in terms of delivery of outputs. The multi-annual framework will also enable Departments and agencies to plan the deployment of staffing resources on capital projects more efficiently and effectively over the medium term.