Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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1276. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development if he will confirm whether all capital underspends in 2024 were reallocated within the Department, or returned to the Exchequer. [23391/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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My Department carefully manages its budget throughout the year to ensure allocated resources are put to best use. The Revised Estimate 2024 provided capital funding of €209 million, which was supplemented by a capital forward of €20 million. A supplementary estimate was brought forward in November 2024 and this provided an additional €10 million in capital funding for the Department, bringing the total capital funding available to €239 million. This supplementary estimate process was also used to reallocate around €12 million in existing capital funding into areas with higher demand, for example the LEADER programme and the Community Centre Investment Fund. Some smaller virements were also sanctioned towards the end of year, allowing a further €3.6 million in capital funding to be reallocated between areas.

As a result of this proactive budget management, capital expenditure in 2024 amounted to €236.1 million, resulting in €2.9 million in gross capital savings relative to the further revised estimate, with this funding returned to the Exchequer. These figures remain provisional until the Department's appropriation account is audited and published by the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General.

A strong pipeline of approved capital projects is in place across the schemes operated by my Department and, coupled with proactive spend management, this will ensure continued strong spend in 2025.