Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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210. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the reason his Department has an underspend of €90 million in capital expenditure at end of October 2016; the way he proposes to ensure that money allocated primarily to address housing need is spent; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33852/16]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The Revised Estimates Volume for Public Services 2016, published by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in December 2015, provided for gross capital expenditure of €545 million in respect of my Department in 2016. Following the transfer of functions from my Department in 2016 to the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs and the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment, the gross capital allocation to my Department in 2016 stands at €473m. In addition, €32m is available for capital spending in my Department in 2016 following a carryover of unspent funding from 2015 giving a total available capital of €505m in 2016. Spending at the end of last week in respect of capital programmes in my Department stood at €217m. I expect significant further expenditure to take place by end 2016; traditionally, a very significant proportion of the Department’s capital spend takes place in the final months of the year when projects and initiatives come to a conclusion. If any savings emerge in the finalisation of Department spending in 2016, consideration will be given, in consultation with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, to the appropriate use of the resources concerned.