Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I very much welcome the concluding statement from the IMF team who conducted the mission. The Minister, Deputy Donohoe, and I met them at the beginning of their work and we met them at the end of the process to discuss the outcome and their findings.

We welcome the statement they have issued.

I share the Deputy's ambition with regard to the public capital investment programme. We have a budget this year of €10.8 billion, including the carry forward from last year. That compares well relative to our European counterparts in that it is in excess of 5% of GNI*.

We are now at an advanced stage of the review of the national development plan. We have published much of the material that has been completed so far. The phase 1 report has concluded and has been published. We are now working through the detail of the preparation of the plan with the line Departments.

We published the stability programme update in April. This was a technical document and based on no policy change. It set out in current and capital terms an increase of approximately 3.5% in core public spending, as distinct from Covid-19 or emergency expenditure in future. That sends a message - albeit on a no-policy-change technical basis - that the dramatic increase we have experienced in public expenditure on capital projects in recent years is going to be maintained. Despite the major challenges we will face in our public finances we are going to maintain an elevated level of public expenditure on capital projects. We will be bringing forward the completed review of the NDP in July.