Éamon Ó Cuív on £150m Capital Underspend and Local Roads

Minister, the question is whether you intend reallocating capital funding within the estimate of your department in the circumstances where there is a slower than projected expenditure to date, which amounts at this date, cumulatively, to an underspend against profile of £150 million in capital. The capital budget for my department for 2021 is over £2.5 billion. My department reports monthly to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform on expenditure versus budget profile. In addition, I am now also providing a quarterly report to government in relation to progress on the investment of capital. With regard to the capital position at end quarter one, expenditure in aviation was broadly on profile and expenditure in the maritime sector was slightly behind profile for the year to date. In relation to the land transport programme, some slight delays have been experienced in relation to expenditure on local and regional roads, public transport asset purchases, station construction and new public transport infrastructure. Some of these were due to COVID restrictions and it is expected that expenditure will return to profile as the year progresses. Now that COVID-19 restrictions have been eased, I expect a clearer picture to emerge in relation to progress on investment for 2021. In the event that any underspend emerges in a particular area or subhead, I will consider whether any such funds could be utilised by another subhead within my department's budget. The possibility of seeking capital carryover would also be examined. Just to say if I can, we are already starting to reallocate some of the budget and some of the underspend into areas. Dr. Keeve may be sure you are seeing Galway or other cities and towns across the country. New public spaces, pedestrianised spaces, spaces for safe dining and people to sit out. We provided a 15 million euro funding and emergency funding in effect for local authorities to help set up those spaces as part of this outdoor summer. As an example of responding to immediate needs and shifting budget priorities. We also provided an additional 5 million euros for local authorities to provide waste management. That was from a different sideline. But we have been responding, looking to reallocate money to respond to the immediate COVID necessities. And I think that is one good example, which is a useful use of those resources. Minister, your profile was to spend 25% of the money in the first five months of the year. And this is capital, of course, we are talking about. And that is in 40% of the year. You actually underspend by 158 million in that period or 30% against profile. So you already have a massive underspend and it is clear from the Exchequer returns for the end of May. Minister, I really like what you are doing in the towns and cities. It is great. But there is a world beyond it out there that has been neglected. And in the last 10 years, not one euro from your department has gone to non-county roads. And there has been a total underspend on the needs in relation to county roads. County regional roads, county secondary roads, county tertiary roads. Minister, would you consider giving money through the LIS scheme to non-county roads, something you have not done in your department for 10 years? And would you also consider increasing the funding for county roads this year, just to deal with immediate urgent problems? Minister. Those non-county roads are in private ownership. Sorry, I am uncertain of the definitions you are using. There are different categories of roads which are always looking for funding. But the priority is on the public road network. There has been significant investment in local roads right across the country. There has been no shortage, no delay in allocating spending. There has been a certain underspend because of COVID, because for certain non-essential works which weren't continued through the first four or five months of the year of the pandemic, there was a natural holding back. But my expectation is that the Department of Transport will not have a significant underspend at the end of the year. And if there is, we will manage it as a capital carryover, so that we can invest in the same urgent issues in the following year. I don't want to see us going short on the works program that we do have. Deputy. Minister, could you tell me what the carryover from last year into this year in capital from your department? So that is one question I would be very interested in getting the answer to. The second thing I want to reiterate, would you check the fact that the roads that are done under LIS are public but not in charge of the local authority? There is a difference. They are not privately owned. They are all public rights away. And would you consider providing extra funding to those counties that could spend extra money on urgent works that are needed, on county roads and on non-county roads? The carryover was €110 million from last year, of which there is the spending. There is a remaining €41 million due to be spent. Sorry, when I describe the road as a private road, I do not deny that there is a public right away and that those roads are critically important. But there is also for, as you say yourself, a huge requirement within the Council's own works and requirements to maintain and upgrade the public road network. And in any instance, the allocation of that is done on a fair basis, where it is on a per-kilometre basis allocated across the counties, and also providing for emergency situations. I recently signed off on a significant allocation to cope with, where roads had particular problems, occurs by heavy rainfall or other local problems. So if there is any instance where due to flooding or due to torrential rain or other local circumstances which require road upkeep, we will not be short in providing that. Thank you. For more information, please visit our website at www.fema.org. Thanks for coming to theock. Thanks for joining us. Well thank you, thank you for joining us, and at the beginning for the next round. Thank you very much. We are getting back to the office and you can see you at the seminar. Thank you very much. Thank you very much for watching. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you for joining us.