Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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75. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he is aware of any overspends exceeding €500,000 on projects undertaken or commissioned by his Department or by any State or semi-State body under the aegis of his Department in each of the past five years; if so, the number and extent of any such overspends, in tabular form; to outline the plans to ascertain levels of such overspends; the further plans to ensure that such information is reported to his Department in a timely fashion; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6526/25]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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In managing capital projects, my Department and the bodies under its aegis ensure that they are all evaluated and delivered in line with the Infrastructure Guidelines (which replaced the Public Spending Code) which set out value for money requirements for the evaluation, planning and management of public investment projects in Ireland.

Capital spend is monitored and reviewed every month. Actual spend is compared to the budgeted voted allocation and any variances require an explanation to be submitted to the relevant Vote Section in my Department.

Capital sanction is provided to Departments in line with the Public Financial Procedures. Any proposed expenditure that does not fall within the scope of the capital sanction must be submitted to my Department for review and sanction must be sought and obtained before any expenditure can occur. Failure to seek and obtain the sanction of my Department may result in a Line Department becoming liable to a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General and subject to examination by the Committee of Public Accounts.

Neither my Department nor any of the bodies under its aegis has overspent in excess of €500,000 on any project as referred to in the Question. I would highlight that in the case of the Office of Public Works (OPW), given the range of projects for which it had responsibility during the period in question, it has not been possible to provide a full response to this Question within the short timeframe available.

Accordingly, I am advised that the OPW will respond directly to the Deputy shortly.