Donohoe refuses to rule out new infrastructure department replacing higher education
Department Of Saying Control Any Be To Leah Spending The /rollingnews Infrastructure Expenditure, Need Public Standalone Donohoe For Minister Was Paschal A Picture: Would Separate Public A Farrell There Ie Existing Department Said From
Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe has declined to rule out whether or not Fine Gael would abolish the Department of Higher Education to create a new infrastructure department.
Mr Donohoe said any standalone infrastructure department would be separate from the existing Department of Public Expenditure, saying there was a need for a minister to control public spending.
“You need two finance ministries at the very centre of government, whose job it is to monitor and evaluate and control overall spending,” Mr Donohoe said.
“In any configuration that might happen, I believe there is an essential role for the Department of Public Expenditure and the Department of Finance.”
It was put to Mr Donohoe there is a restriction within the Constitution only allowing for 15 senior ministers, of which some already have multiple departments.
Scroll for results in your area
Pressed on what department he would see abolished for a separate infrastructure department, Mr Donohoe said: “I think what you will see when we outline our views in relation to that department of [infrastructure], that it’s not about getting rid of government departments.
“It’ll be about how some of them are brought together.”
Asked further if this meant the recently established Department of Higher Education would be folded into the Department of Education, Mr Donohoe demurred and did not rule it out.
“The manifesto will be out soon. We’ll be able to answer all of those details.”
Mr Donohoe said a new Government report details there will be a significant number of infrastructure projects the next coalition will have to fund and deliver.
“It is rare that we will have so many big projects being delivered at the same time under a government and that is why, for me, the infrastructure department can play a really big role in pulling together the expertise that’s currently located in a number of different Government departments,” Mr Donohoe said.
Fianna Fáil have pushed back on the proposal for a new infrastructure department, with Tánaiste Micheál Martin describing the plan as “half-baked”.
One senior Fianna Fáil source indicated the party did not favour an infrastructure department and would instead push for reforms within the Department of Public Expenditure and allow projects move forward with less bureaucracy.
“These [restrictions] were put in when times were tight. Times aren’t tight now,” the source said.
They argued general reforms to remove red tape on big projects were needed, highlighting work within the new planning laws was also aimed at reducing bureaucracy.
The source also indicated Mr Martin would be resistant to the removal of the Department of Higher Education, having pushed for the new department during the 2020 coalition negotiations.