Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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175. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the discussions that have taken place to allocate the remaining €2.5 billion left in the capital plan budget ahead of a mid-year review; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7483/17]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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My Department has commenced work on the review of the Capital Plan advising Departments of the content required for their submissions to the review and conducting a formal briefing for all Departments/Offices on the review process.

Departments are required to make submissions, including proposals for any of the additional capital funding available, by end February 2017. A public consultation will also be initiated in the coming weeks.  My Department will assess the submissions received and make recommendations to Government in Q3 2017, to inform decisions by Government on revised capital allocations in the context of Budget 2018.

The Deputy will, therefore, appreciate that any consideration or examination of funding allocations can only commence on the basis of the submissions received from Departments and following the completion of my Department's assessment and analysis of these proposals, taking into account the outcome of the consultation process.

The Capital Plan sets out a €42 billion framework to address our priority infrastructure needs up to 2021. Government identified an additional €5.14 billion funding for capital in the 2016 Summer Economic Statement.

Last year, €2.2 billion of the additional capital was allocated to the Government's initiatives aimed at tackling the housing crisis, as detailed in the Action Plan on Housing and Homelessness. Taking account of further allocations made in Budget 2017, approximately €2.65 billion remains to be allocated over the period 2018-2021.

The priority for the review is to ensure that this additional capital funding is aligned with national economic and social priorities, consistent with Programme for Government objectives, and helps to underpin sustainable medium-term economic growth and future growth potential.