Irish Examiner view: The original sin of government spending

The Housing Minister has carried over €340m — 10% of his 2022 budget — into this year. You'd swear there was no housing crisis.

While acknowledging the challenges — from the pandemic to energy costs — readers will be baffled that Darragh O'Brien failed to spend his entire housing budget. File picture: Liam McBurney/PA

Readers will be taken aback by news that the Government has not spent its entire housing budget for 2022 despite the worst housing and accommodation crisis on record.

Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien confirmed in a reply to a recent parliamentary question that he would seek to carry over the maximum amount allowed from his department’s 2022 allocation — 10% of the budget, approximately €340m — to this year, blaming a number of factors for slow progress in the area.