Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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42. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will report on capital expenditure to date in 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45493/21]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy will be aware, the drawdown of capital expenditure from the Exchequer is detailed each month and is publicly available in the Fiscal Monitor, which is published on the gov.ie website. All line Departments and agencies submit information on their expenditure levels against profile to my Department, along with an explanation outlining details regarding any variance of under or over spending against profile.

The latest capital expenditure figures available to end-August show that the net capital spend, including capital carryover, was €4,153 million. When the carryover amount is omitted, the net capital spend amounts to €3,726 million, which is 14.8% or €649 million behind the profiled amount of €4,375 million, with all but one Department declaring underspends against profile.

2021 saw a larger than usual capital carryover from the previous year with €710 million carried over. The carryover spend to end-August amounts to €427 million (60.2% of the €710 million carryover).

Capital expenditure by its nature tends to be lumpy, with a particularly high drawdown at year-end. For example, 25.6% of the annual capital issues were drawn down in December 2018; 25.4% in December 2019 and 32.4% in December 2020. It is therefore difficult to predict, at this point in time, the levels of savings, if any, at end-year.

While there was an impact on building activity earlier this year, due to Covid restrictions, activity in the sector has ramped up significantly since sites re-opened when restrictions were lifted in April. With this increased activity, Departments generally expect spending to realign with profiled expenditure by the end of the year.

We will continue to monitor and report on capital expenditure developments as the year progresses.