'Government well able to spend money, but what will we get for it?' asks Naughten

Local TD Denis Naughten has questioned whether citizens will get value for money from the Government's National Development Plan, which, he calculated, would result in spending of just over €500 every single second during this decade.

Commenting on the publication of the Government's plan earlier this week, Deputy Naughten said that, while it sets out a massive spending programme, "the key unanswered question is will we get improved delivery for that investment?"

"We have seen with the National Children’s Hospital that there is no shortfall in the Government's ability to spend money but what are we actually getting in return?" asked the Galway-Roscommon TD.

"For example, in the climate area, there is a commitment to fulfil the target that I set as Minister to take dirty fossil fuels out of our home heating systems by the middle of the next decade, but there is very little detail in this plan on how we're actually going to address the shortage of skilled staff to carry out the work.

"And then there are commitments that the Government has given such as fast-tracking the delivery of National Broadband Plan, but it is still on the same original timeline in the National Development Plan.

"There is no indication that the commitment will actually be fulfilled. In fact, the reality is that the National Broadband Plan is currently running six months behind target.

"There are some significant changes in the National Development Plan, like the decision to prioritise public transport over road transport investment, but there is a failure to acknowledge that in most parts of Ireland public transport means buses and you cannot have a reliable bus service without decent roads.

"While many aspects of this plan are very much a rehash of what the cabinet I was part of agreed in January 2018, there seems to have been little thinking on how Government is going to deliver on what are very worthy objectives, so we will have to await the implementation of these targets but also ensure that our citizens get value for money," he concluded.