Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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Question 101: To ask the Minister for Finance if he will consider a public works programme as an immediate measure to combat unemployment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9934/11]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The Jobs Initiative, announced in the Dáil in early May, included a range of expenditure measures designed to help in getting people back to work. Investing in public infrastructure was a substantial component of the overall Initiative. Public capital investment can play an important role in promoting employment. It can stimulate economic activity as well as providing direct employment. Additionally, well targeted investment in infrastructure can have significantly higher indirect job creation impacts in the medium term. As part of the Jobs Initiative, the Government has refocused part of its capital expenditure to boost jobs in the construction sector. Specifically, there will be further investment in schools, local and regional roads and the national energy retrofitting programme.

In this regard, a number of changes to the capital envelope were announced: - An additional €30 million will be made available for school works this year, - There will be investment of an additional €60 million in regional and local roads to carry out much needed repair and restoration work and investment of an additional €15 million in local sustainable transport projects such as cycle lanes, pedestrian routes and park-and-ride facilities; - There will also be investment of an additional €30 million in the national energy retrofitting programme; and furthermore, - Two additional PPP schools bundles will be commenced in areas where additional infrastructure is required post-2016.

In April of this year the Government agreed that the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform would carry out a major review of the public capital programme for 2012 to 2016; this review is currently underway. Capital programmes and projects that support economic recovery and achieve the highest sustainable employment impact in the short to medium term will be at the core of the review.