Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 242: To ask the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources the projects which have been subjected to detailed cost benefit appraisal in the past six months; the benefit cost ratio which emerged from this test; if he is satisfied that projects being selected not only pass this test but represent a better return than competing uses for the same limited funds; and the way in which this process influences the size of the capital envelope for different project areas. [37348/05]

Noel Dempsey (Meath, Fianna Fail)
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The appraisal and evaluation of capital expenditure projects within the aegis of my Department is undertaken in accordance with the Guidelines for the Appraisal and Management of Capital Expenditure Proposals in the Public Sector, as issued by the Department of Finance in January 2005. In accordance with those guidelines, cost benefit analyses are generally undertaken on projects over €50 million and on projects over €5 million which involve complex or specialised issues or untried technologies, involve issues which have not previously been investigated in depth, are regarded as pilot projects or would generate substantial ongoing maintenance or operating costs. No such analyses have been undertaken in my Department in the past six months.

Cost benefit analyses inform decisions on the selection and approval of capital expenditure proposals and the formulation of funding priorities within the new multi-annual capital envelope framework. Other non-economic factors are also considered in the context of policy decisions on capital investment programmes and projects.