asked the Minister for Finance when the Capital Appraisal Group was set up in his Department; if he will state its membership, its terms of reference, the subjects it has considered and the reports it has presented to him.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Capital Appraisal Group.
33.
In view of the length of the reply, I propose with your permission, a Cheann Comhairle, to circulate it with the Official Report.
Following is the reply:—
1. The Working Group to appraise the expenditures in the Public Capital Programme was set up over a period commencing in July, 1967.
2. Membership of the Working Group consisted of 23 officers of Assistant Principal rank of the Department of Finance, 21 from other Departments and 22 from State bodies, as well as three from outside the central government service, namely from Dublin University and the County Sligo VEC. An Assistant Secretary of the Department of Finance acted as Chairman, a Principal Officer as Vice-Chairman and an Assistant Principal as full-time secretary. The members formed themselves into smaller groups each charged particularly with one or more of the areas of investment listed below. In general the work was done in the spare time of the officers concerned except that various officers worked full time for periods so that between spring 1968 and spring 1970 there was on average the equivalent of eight full-time working members.
3. The terms of reference of the appraisal were:
"to appraise the Public Capital Programme by considering the cost of each of the constituent items of the programme in relation to the economic and social benefits which it yields or may be expected to yield to the community".
4. For the purpose of the appraisal the Working Group divided the public capital programme into 50 constituent items or areas of investment as follows:—
Building and Construction
(1) New Housing Grants
(2) Reconstruction and Improvement Grants
(3) National Building Agency*
(4) Gaeltacht Housing*
(5) Other Public Housing Investment
(6) State Buildings
(7) Sanitary Services
(8) Miscellaneous Local Authority Services
(9) Primary Schools
(10) Secondary, Vocational and Comprehensive Schools
(11) Post Secondary Educational Buildings*
(12) Hospitals
Transport
(13) Airports
(14) Córas Iompair Éireann
(15) Air Companies
(16) Irish Shipping Ltd
(17) British and Irish Steam Packet Company
(18) Shipping Investment Grants
(19) Harbours (Commercial)
Communications
(20) Telephones
(21) Radio Telefís Éireann
Agriculture
(22) Agriculture (General)
(23) Bovine Tuberculosis Eradication Scheme
(24) Brucellosis Eradication Scheme
(25) Land Project
(26) Phosphatic Fertiliser Subsidy
(27) Farm Buildings and Water Supply
(28) Glasshouse Grants
(29) Agricultural Credit
(30) Arterial Drainage
(31) Forestry
Fisheries
(32) Fishery Harbours
(33) Bord Iascaigh Mhara
Industrial Promotion
(34) New Industry Grants
(35) Adaptation and Re-equipment Grants
(36) Industrial Estates
(37) Industrial Credit Company
(38) Shannon Free Airport Development Company
(39) Taiscí Stáit
Industry
(40) Nítrigin Éireann Teo
(41) Irish Steel Holdings Ltd.
(42) Gaeltarra Éireann
(43) Erin Foods Ltd.
(44) Ceimicí Teo.
Fuel and Power
(45) Electricity Supply Board
(46) Bord na Móna
Tourism
(47) Resort Development Grants
(48) Holiday Accommodation Grants
(49) Supplementary Accommodation Grants
(50) Ostlanna Iompair Éireann Teo
* In the event, the Working Group decided to concentrate on those three of the five housing items which between them accounted for virtually the full total of State capital expenditure on housing, namely, new housing grants, reconstruction and improvement grants and other public housing investment. They did not deal with third-level education building because building needs in that area were under review by the Higher Education Authority, nor did they deal with Taiscí Stáit because of the impending discontinuance of its operations.
5. The Working Group presented an interim report relating to programme budgeting, and a general report, which is at present under consideration, together with separate studies of the individual expenditures.