Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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519. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his plans to accelerate the roll-out of capital projects in view of the underspend in 2020 and 2021 due to Covid-19 restrictions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14034/21]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy will be aware, the management of capital budgets and individual projects is a matter for the relevant Departments in the first instance.

What I can say is the capital carryover mechanism is in place to assist Departments with the management of their capital spend across years to alleviate pressures and delays caused by unexpected events.  This mechanism allowed Departments to carry forward €710 million from their 2020 capital allocations in 2021, ensuring continuity for resourcing to enable projects to fully resume when conditions allow.

It is too early at this stage to assess the impact of public health requirements on public capital projects. However, my Department will continue to monitor capital spend in the course of 2021.