Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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76. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the reason gross capital spending was 15% less than profiled as per the end of May Exchequer statement. [28402/13]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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The end May Exchequer returns showed that €751m was drawn down by Departments and Offices. This is €108m (12.6%) behind the level that had been profiled in the period. However, taking account of expenditure of €63m in capital carryover, total expenditure to date amounts to €814m. A variance of between 10% and 12% is not unusual and there can be variations in spending patterns between Departments with some ahead of target. Departments have indicated that they do not expect any significant savings by year end and so expenditure is expected to return to profile at that stage.

As you know, capital spending has general characteristics which influence the allocation drawdown pattern. Expenditure on capital projects typically occurs in large tranches at fixed milestones, unlike current expenditure which is generally continuous throughout the year. This will, of course, affect the phasing and profiling of capital expenditure.