-----because I am aware how important is the investment in our roads to try to prevent the alarming risks that we are seeing with road safety. It is getting worse. I accept that this is a very important matter.

I acknowledge that the Deputy has been raising this consistently over recent months. The Minister of State, Deputy O'Donovan, and I are very much aware of his keen interest in this and his determination to try to find a way to resolve it. Given that this is a complex matter and that there may well be negotiations that will happen in the future, I do not want to undermine our ability to secure a good outcome for the Deputy and for the taxpayer. I absolutely commit to continuing to engage with the OPW, as does the Mi…

The Minister of State, Deputy Butler, and I are aware of the issue being raised by Deputy Smith. As for what has happened here, I believe that five separate attempts have been made to find a replacement for the GP who retired. Five separate recruitment campaigns have been run. As the Deputy is aware, more so than I am, these services have been provided on a locum basis since 2020. The HSE agrees with the Deputy that this is not a sustainable way in which the State can provide health services to the Deputy's constit…

With the permission of the House, the question from Deputy Healy-Rae will be answered by the Minister of State, Deputy Heydon, the question asked by Deputy Costello will be answered by the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman and Deputy Wynne's question will be dealt with by the Minister of State, Deputy Butler. Regarding the questions put to me, I assure the Deputy that whatever the Minister, Deputy Foley, waves at me, it is not the white flag. She is always making the case for more services and supports for the children the…

I agree with Deputy Bruton’s point. Some time ago, a campaign was run by the Revenue Commissioners to make people aware of the entitlements they could avail of within the tax code. The Deputy’s idea was a good one and I will follow up with the Ministers for Finance and Social Protection. The allowances to which he referred can make a considerable difference to taxpayers and families.

A contingency fund.

I move the following Revised Estimates: Vote 7 — Office of the Minister for Finance (Revised Estimate) That a sum not exceeding €42,434,000 be granted to defray the charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of December, 2024, for the salaries and expenses of the Office of the Minister for Finance, including the Paymaster-General's Office, for certain services administered by the Office of the Minister and for payment of certain grants and that a sum not exceeding €110,000 be…

I thank the Deputy for the question. As the Deputy is aware from the various points she has put to me, the Economic and Social Research Institute published its report, The National Development Plan in 2023: Priorities and Capacity, on 12 January 2024. It is important to reiterate the rationale behind why I commissioned this report by the ESRI. A comprehensive review of the national development plan, NDP, was undertaken over the course of 2020 and 2021, which led to the publication of an updated NDP in October 2021.…

Respectfully I beg to differ. The Deputy asked me the question around how the findings of the recently published report shaped the national development plan in 2023, how we are dealing with priorities and capacities in review of NDP ceilings, and if I would make a statement on the matter. That is the question the Deputy put to me and that is the question I answered. With regard to the points the Deputy put to me on my engagement with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, the Minister is making c…

I had the report in draft format earlier on in the year. I cannot remember if it was available in draft format to my Department before or after the budget because the budget season is always so intense. I did not see the actual report itself until far later in the year. As soon as the report was published it was shared with the Minister for Finance but there will be nothing in the report that will come as a surprise to the Minister for Finance or to his Department. On the reallocation of economic activity within ou…

Many State bodies classified by the Central Statistics Office, CSO, as commercial are already solely audited by the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General.  While section 1438 of the Companies Act 2014 provides that companies not trading for the gain of their members may be audited by the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General, only regulated private sector audit firms can act as statutory auditors for companies, including public companies, that have been set up for commercial gain under the Companies…

I do not have any such plans. For such a change to be made, there would need to be clear evidence to underpin a very broad change in how we audit a very broad and significant part of the State. As I said in my answer to the Deputy, there are many organisations that are operating in the commercial environment. It is therefore appropriate, as they are operating in the commercial environment, that they are audited in a way that is equivalent to how their peers are audited. What is it in the operation of ESB, for examp…

When the Deputy referenced layers of dysfunction, what organisations was she referring to?

We are all well aware of the scandals and the huge difficulty Anglo Irish Bank created. Anglo Irish Bank was a commercial organisation for nearly all of its existence. This is indicative of the general tone of suspicion Sinn Féin has in respect of very important State bodies that do excellent work on our behalf. On the one hand, the Deputy talks about the need for the State to be expanded and the need for the State to do more. On the other hand, she is then coming forward and saying, on the basis of some claims and…

As Minister for public expenditure, I am responsible for setting the overall capital allocations across Departments and for monitoring monthly expenditure at departmental level. The responsibility for the management and delivery of individual investment projects, within the allocations agreed under the national development plan, rests with the individual sponsoring Department in each case. Expenditure is allocated and monitored on a departmental basis and not a geographical basis. The Deputy is aware of the overall…

I take on board that point the Deputy has made there. Given the number of projects that are under way in Donegal, it does appear the county should get a bit more reference in the publication to which the Deputy has referred. As he knows, the minute you start naming one county, it poses difficulties for other counties that are not mentioned. It is very difficult to please everybody all the time in the drafting of reports. I imagine that is the reason care is taken in referencing individual counties. I hope the answe…

I am familiar with the Dungloe to Glenties road and can really imagine the benefit that will be brought to commuters and communities when that project is delivered. I will have to follow up with the Minister, Deputy Ryan, about the further extension that Deputy Pringle has referred to. I know the benefit that a change like that would bring to Killybegs and can see how it would be consistent with the further development of the port. I should emphasise that decisions relating to the funding of individual projects are…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 90 and 107 together. I refer to the previous updates on this matter I have given to the House regarding the consent process for the Crossmolina flood relief scheme, the most recent of which was on 30 January. As the Minister for public expenditure, I am the consenting authority for flood relief schemes submitted under the Arterial Drainage Act 1945 and the Arterial Drainage (Amendment) Act 1995. In accordance with the European Union regulations of 2019, the OPW has sought consent fo…

I thank the Deputies. I absolutely acknowledge the huge anxiety that the status of this project is causing to the communities both of them represent. It is only fair that I acknowledge that the Minister of State, Deputy Calleary, has also raised this issue on a number of occasions in the same way and tone they have. The length of my answer and the references I made to the many consultations and the legal environment around these flood relief schemes show how complex it is and how prone it is to legal challenge. We …

I thank the Deputy and recognise that this has not become a political matter, as I said in my opening remarks, in recognition of the concerns local communities have about this. I fully understand the desire of both Deputies and of Deputy Calleary to see this matter brought to a conclusion. I am, in effect, representing the final planning authority with regard to this scheme. For that reason, I must take absolute care in the words I use. We have to ensure this work is carried out independently and effectively and th…