It is clear that a new public spending code is required. It has been required for a long time, but I am still no clearer on when it will be published. The Minister has said he will give it his attention after the Finance Bill is passed.
Two months ago, its publication was promised in the next number of weeks. I am sure that Mr. Robert Watt knew there would be a budget and a finance Bill.
The Minister told me that I should have confidence in what the Government was doing with large-scale projects, but I have no confidence in what it or, indeed, he is doing. Standing in Dáil Éireann, he cannot give assurances to Deputies and the people that a runaway project, one that has gone from €650 million in 2015 to €1 billion in 2017, €1.5 billion this time last year and €1.7 billion now, will not reach the €2 billion mark. He is out of his depth when it comes to reining in major capital projects, and this is just one example. It is the same with the national broadband plan.