Matt Shanahan Demands New Dashboard for Capital Allocations
Matt Shanahan challenged the minister on the fairness and transparency of capital funding, arguing the South East — with 9% of the population — cannot see the supposed €900 million on the government's capital tracker and that Cork's university sector has received €300 million while the South East has received nothing. He asked the minister to commit to a new reporting standard and a new dashboard for capital allocations so the public can see where funding is going.
Alleged regional imbalance
Matt Shanahan said the South East, despite representing 9% of the population, has no visible sign of the €900 million he expected on the government's capital tracker and contrasted that with the €300 million received by the university sector in Cork.
Limitations of the projects tracker
The minister responded that the online projects tracker is not designed to capture all investment and only records projects above a certain threshold, which explains some gaps in visible allocations on the dashboard.
Existing regional reporting and local analysis
The minister pointed to reports produced on a regional assembly basis, including for the southern region, and noted that Cork County Council commissioned its own review of national funding streams to assess local allocations.
Minister open to new reporting channels
The minister said he is open to new reporting channels to improve transparency and get a better handle on the spread and distribution of resources, and acknowledged that improving delivery of equitable funding is a government objective.
We publish thousands of recordings to make Irish politics transparent and resistant to manipulation. Spotted an error? Report it — together we are building a reliable archive of Irish politics.
Minister, my question relates to the fair distribution and the transparent distribution of monies statewide and I'd point out to you that the South East has 9% of the population and where can we see 900 million within the government's capital tracker? We can't. The dashboard there is absolutely useless in terms of showing where money has been spent. I'd point out to you in the life of this dial that the university sector in Cork has now received 300 million euro. We haven't received anything in the South East. So I'd ask you, Minister, will you commit? to a new reporting standard and a new dashboard in terms of capital allocations so that people can see where funding is going in the state. Thank you. Deputy Shannon, I know you have raised this issue on a number of occasions and I hear what you have had to say there in relation to the online projects tracker. Now, it is not designed to capture all of the investment. It is only in respect of projects above a certain threshold. You will also be familiar, I know, with the report that is produced on a regional assembly basis, including for the southern region. I know in Cork, the Cork County Council commissioned a piece of work themselves to look at the totality of funding streams from national government to see if they could come to a conclusion as to how they were faring. And perhaps it is something we can talk about offline, but I am open to new reporting channels so we get a better handle on the proper spread and distribution of resources, which is a government objective. And if that is not being delivered, then it is something that we would certainly like to address.
Thank you for downloading 🙏
If you publish this material on social media, we would be very grateful if you tagged VideoParliament. It helps us reach more people and keep building a transparent archive of Irish politics.
