Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform further to Parliamentary Question No. 210 of 2 October 2012, if he will estimate the number of new jobs that would have been created if the 2012 infrastructure and capital spend budget, which to the end of August 2012 was underspent by €120m compared with profile, and to the end of September 2012 was underspent by €268m compared with profile, had in fact been spent according to profile. [43753/12]

Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the consideration given to the creation of employment when the 2012 infrastructure and capital spend budget was profiled at the start of 2012 in order that 45% of the total annual budget, amounting to €1.65bn out of an annual budget of €3.6bn, was to be spent in the last 25% of the year. [43756/12]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 110 and 113 together.

The profiling of capital expenditure is carried out by individual Departments on the basis of the likely timing of payments related to capital projects and programmes which they deliver. Job creation is not a factor in the profiling exercise. Queries in relation to the profiling of capital allocations are a matter for individual Ministers and their Departments. In responding to the Deputy's question however, I feel it is important to point out that a variance of around 12% in capital expenditure is not unusual. Despite such variances, over the last five years capital expenditure at end December has generally been back on profile with a variance of less than 2%.

While my Department is not responsible for the profiling of capital expenditure it does set the overall expenditure allocations of Departments which includes setting the five year multi-annual capital envelopes. The present five year envelope was outlined in the "Infrastructure and Capital Investment 2012-2016: Medium Term Exchequer Framework" which was published last November following a Government-wide review of the public capital programme.

There will, of course, be direct employment benefits in the delivery of the infrastructure proposed in the Investment Framework; however, it is important to note that the most important contribution capital investment can now make is in providing the capacity for the economy to grow, which will in turn create employment. In this context, the review made a point of protecting supports to the enterprise sector primarily through agencies such as Enterprise Ireland and the IDA. The unprecedented level of investment over the past few years and in 2012 delivered through the Enterprise Development Agencies can foster sustainable and valuable employment in the exporting sectors of the economy which will be critical to recovery.