My question is about the national development plan. I understand additional resources may be made available for the plan some time this year. How much additional money will be put on the table? When will we know the individual allocations for each line Department?

The capital budget for this year, which is money invested in public infrastructure like schools, hospitals, roads and transport, is €13 billion. That is four times the amount when I was first appointed to Government in 2011. That is the extent to which we have ramped up investment in public infrastructure in recent years. The additional amount to be allocated is €2.25 billion over the next three years. The Minister, Deputy Donohoe, is currently in negotiations with Ministers about how that will be allocated and to which Departments. As the Deputy can imagine, Ministers have ideas and bills attached to them that run to many multiples of €2.25 billion. It was always thus but we expect those allocations to be ready to be confirmed most likely in March.