5. Deputy Richard O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the reason figures for existing levels of service, ELS, were not included in the budget 2026 documentation; the plans for these to be provided in detail in budgetary documentation going forward, considering recommendations from the Oireachtas Committee on Budgetary Oversight; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11621/26]

Sentiment score: 0.01

The budgetary oversight committee is great and we have a diverse range of people on it. The one thing we want to see is accountability. We want to be able to see forecasting. The job of the committee is to go back year by year and see where moneys are being spent and where the delivery is. Looking at the Departments, if I ran my business the way the Government runs its business I would not be in business. We want to see the delivery of the funds the Minister has named and all the millions he has listed to see that we get delivery on budget and on time. What I have seen to date is that we have seen a lot of moneys spent but we are not getting the delivery. If you compare it with business models we are not getting the same results. Those businesses make profits out of their work but the Government cannot deliver in the same way businesses can. I need to try to address that.

Sentiment score: 0.11

I understand what the Minister is trying to do and I take in the context of what he is saying. There is better forecasting - that is probably the word I am looking for. However, look at the children's hospital where we have gone €1.2 billion over budget. Now I hear we are looking to take a legal challenge against the contractors for not finishing the job. The problem here is not the contractors but the contract and how it was set out on the first day, through the Departments. Every year that goes on, the regulation changes. It is an ongoing issue. From the point of view of the delivery of infrastructure such as that hospital - which is becoming a white elephant and I wonder whether it will ever be finished - how can the Minister budget for that within his Department of infrastructure? It is €1.2 billion over budget. Where would that go to deliver a lot of the services out there? I want accountability not only for the developer but also for the Departments and how they deliver for the Minister and the people.

Sentiment score: 0.04