Spending on capital projects takes a hit as austerity wins out over stimulus

IN JULY of last year, as the Fianna Fáil-Green coalition struggled desperately to address the gaping hole in the public finances, it decided to cut back heavily on infrastructure projects in order to save some money.

A document was published setting out the “infrastructure investment priorities” for 2010 to 2016. But while there were cutbacks, it still envisaged spending some €39.4 billion on capital projects such as roads, railways, hospitals and schools over the period in question.

Of that, some €27.5bn was to be spent between 2012 and 2016.