Written answers
Wednesday, 28 September 2005
Department of Transport
Departmental Expenditure
9:00 pm
Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 826: To ask the Minister for Transport the reason his Department has spent â¬160 million less in the first six months in 2005 than in the same period in 2004; the projects where the savings have occurred and the reasons for the underspend. [25936/05]
Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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For the first six months of 2005 this Department has spent â¬620 million which is â¬111 million less than for the same period in 2004.
The difference in the main is made up of a capital spend of â¬66 million less on roads projects and â¬40 million less on public transport projects in the first half of the year as compared with the same period last year. This reflects the challenges associated with managing a complex multi-annual capital programme to deliver projects within the budget for a given year. It is mainly timing issues which are arising and the delivery agencies remain in a position to spend their full envelope allocations in aggregate over 2005-06.
Some specific contributory factors to the lower draw-down in the first half of 2005 were planning delays, difficulties in concluding land acquisition and property transactions relating to roads and public transport and timing issues on the purchase of rolling stock.
The arrangements for a multi-annual capital envelope are specifically designed to provide the flexibility to deal with timing issues of this nature.
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