Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 8 July 2021
341. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the total allocation of capital to her Department in 2021 including any capital carried forward from 2020; the amount of this spent to date in 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37030/21]
View answerThe revised estimate for my Department for 2021 provides for a gross allocation of €351 million, with a capital allocation of €168.6 million. In addition, €13.18 million of unspent capital funding has been carried forward from 2020 giving a total capital allocation of €181.8 million for 2021.
At the end of June 2021 total capital spend amounted to €31.5 million which includes €4 million from the capital allocation carried forward from 2020.
The COVID-19 pandemic and the necessary public health restrictions that were imposed across all sectors of society, including the construction industry, has again impacted on the progress of projects in 2021. It will be challenging to make up the ground lost due to the closure of the construction sites until May. However, my Department monitors the activity across all programme areas on an ongoing basis to ensure that maximum expenditure is achieved.
Given these challenges, I will be keeping capital expenditure under constant review, and will seek to ensure that the resources provided are put to best use so that rural areas and communities benefit from the investments provided through our programmes.
