MINISTERS EXPRESSED UNEASE today over the underspend on the delivery of national road projects. 

Cabinet was told today of a nearly €100 million underspend by the Department of Transport with a number of ministers understood to have raised concerns. 

The memo on the quarterly expenditure report was brought by Minister Roderic O’Gorman, on behalf of Transport Minister Eamon Ryan, who was not in attendance at the meeting today.

A government spokesperson confirmed there has been underspends so far this year in the delivery of national roads, as well as greenway and EV infrastructure. 

However, it is understood much of the discussion was on roads around the Cabinet table this afternoon, although with Ryan not being present, no one pushed too hard on the spending fall down, The Journal understands. 

The profiled programme expenditure to end quarter one is €219 million and the actual expenditure is €122 million – with an underspend of €97 million. 

Active travel expenditure for walking and cycling is on course to meet its profile, however greenways investment is behind profile on some schemes. 

Expenditure on EV infrastructure was also behind, though it is expected to pick up in the second half of this year, it is understood. 

The Department of Transport has been informed by the SEAI that there has been a significant increase in grant applications and it is expected that this will translate into increased expenditure.

However, the biggest concern raised today by far relates to roads, and while ministers were told the spend on regional and local roads is on track, the news of underspending on national roads did not go down well with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael ministers. 

The delivery of national roads projects is something opposition TDs are always keen to highlight.

The Rural Independent group strongly criticised Fianna Fail and Fine Gael TDs recently for “enabling the Green Party to indefinitely halt at least eight major new road projects that were scheduled and promised for construction this year”.

These projects include planned upgrades to roads in Cork, Waterford, Offaly, Limerick, Tipperary, and Galway, all of which are national roads and were earmarked for investment under various government plans, including the National Development Plan.

Rural Independent TD Mattie McGrath accused the Green Party of impeding the utilisation of this allocated funding for new road projects while accusing the party of having an “anti-road agenda”.  

A government spokesperson on behalf of the Green Party said today that while there has been a degree of underspend in some areas, the department is confident that expenditure will return to profile as the year progresses.

It is normal at this point of year for the level of spend to be quite low with a degree of underspend, with expenditure returning to profile by year end, they added. 

Transport Infrastructure Ireland expects the rate of capital drawdown to return to forecast levels as the year progresses and it does not expect a material underspend to arise, it was stated. 

The Department’s total capital budget for 2023 is €2.6 billion plus deferred surrender amounting to €138m.

Planned investments by the Department of Transport for 2023 includes the planning and construction phases of a large number of cycling, pedestrian and greenway projects; capital investment in EV infrastructure; investment in new bus and rail fleet and infrastructure and capital investment in the construction, protection and renewal of national, regional and local roads, and the design and construction work of the Safe Routes to School Programme.

Covid mitigation measures under review 

Separately, while ministers were informed of an underspend by one department, there has been an overspend in another. 

Minister Stephen Donnelly got Government to note the Department of Health’s expenditure for 2022 and the first quarter of 2023.

He outlined that a supplementary estimate of €1.4bn was required at the end of 2022.

The majority of this, €1.2bn, was for Covid related expenditure that year due to the Omicron wave.

Much of the remaining overspend of €200m related to post-Budget 2022 decisions such as the Haddington Road Hours restoration, the Pandemic Payment, and additional vaccination booster programme recommendations.

The HSE has reported a deficit to the end of March of €178 million, which is primarily due to spend in Ireland’s acute hospitals.

Cabinet was told that emergency department attendances are up 1% and ED admissions are up 6% on the same period last year, which was a higher-than-normal period due to the impact of Omicron.

Ministers were informed that measuring the figures over a five-year average (2018-2022) there are still increases seen in emergency department attendances, which are up 13% and admissions, which are up 11%.

Compared to the same period last year, inpatient and day cases are up 11%, and outpatient attendances are up 10%.

It is understood that work is underway on financial control measures, which includes the need to continue Covid mitigation measures, which sources state are “financially wasteful” as the pandemic has been declared over.