Gerald Nash
Ceist:114. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the total underspend on capital spending to date in 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31015/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThursday, 16 June 2022
Ceisteanna (114)
Freagraí scríofa
As the Deputy will be aware, the drawdown of capital expenditure from the Exchequer is detailed each month and is publicly available in the Fiscal Monitor, which is published on the gov.ie website. All line Departments and agencies submit information on their expenditure levels against profile to my Department, along with an explanation outlining details regarding any variance of under or over spending against profile.
The latest capital expenditure figures available to end-May reveal that the net capital spend, including capital carryover, was €2,710 million. When the carryover amount is omitted, the net capital spend amounts to €2,195 million, which is €453 million or 17.1% behind the profiled amount of €2,648 million, with all but two Departments declaring underspends against profile. Expenditure on capital infrastructure and programmes for the first five months is some €310 million or 16.4% ahead of the same period last year.
Capital expenditure by its nature tends to be lumpy, with a particularly high drawdown at year-end. It is therefore not unusual for Departments to record an under or over spend against profile throughout the year.
The Government has committed to investing €165 billion in capital programmes and projects across a range of investment sectors, as set out in the National Development Plan 2021 - 2030 published last October. In 2022, almost €12 billion is available to spend on vital infrastructure in areas such as housing, transport, education, enterprise, sport and climate action and our annual capital investment as a percentage of national income is among the largest in the EU.
We will continue to monitor and report on capital expenditure developments as the year progresses.