The Government “need to be able to spend the money that has been allocated them”, Sinn Féin's Pearse Doherty has said.

Figures released yesterday show the Government collected tax receipts of €4.4 billion in April, up €478 million or 12.2% on the same month in 2022.

Speaking to Newstalk Breakfast, the party's finance spokesman said the Government need to “spend the money that has been allocated to them.”

“[The Government] are failing in the first four months of this year,” he said.

“That's just an absolutely ridiculous situation where a third of the budget that they expected to spend at this point in time has not been spent.

“That comes on top of the fact that there's €1 billion in housing that hasn't been spent over the last three years.

“We need to increase capacity in health, and therefore there needs to be additional investment there.”

‘Cautious spending’

Deputy Doherty said today’s meeting of the European Central Bank (ECB) will likely mean an increase in interest rates for Irish people.

“There is a duty and obligation on the State to actually help people during this period,” he said.

“Mortgage Interest Relief is an example of how they can actually support families in terms of Mortgage Interest.”

Fine Gael spokesperson on Public Expenditure, Bernard Durkan, said the Government “have to be careful that we don't go on a splurge.”

“We have to pick the issues that are salient to our economy, and that will deliver the most in terms of jobs … in terms of making good facilities that are obviously under pressure because our population is growing,” he said.

“There are various issues that slow down the degree to which anybody or any party can respond in respect of building houses.”

‘Housing’

Deputy Doherty said the issue of housing is a “societal disaster.”

“In terms of the expenditure in housing, this isn't a ramp-up of expenditure suddenly,” he said.

He said in the last seven years of Fine Gael’s government, there were “targets of €12,000 in state-supported construction.”

“There are social housing applications … that are completely stalled because of red tape.

“The issues here in terms of some of these constructions and allowing for this development isn't the fact that there are issues in terms of workforce planning, but … in terms of the red tape.”

‘Rainy day fund’

Deputy Durkan said the Government should have a “rainy day fund” put aside.

“We're a heavily borrowed country at the moment, one of the most heavily borrowed in the world,” he said.

“If anything goes wrong, then we're in trouble.”

“Everybody said: ‘Well, it's raining now, we need to spend it now.’ That philosophy is very dangerous.

“It is good and wise to spend in accordance with our strengths and having regard to our weaknesses.”

Deputy Doherty said the Government need to use some of the money that has been put aside to support the "growing population."

“Next year we are projected to have a €16 billion surplus and that's after increasing expenditure by 5%.”

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