Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 25 June 2025

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach

Engagement with Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation

2:00 am

Photo of Jack ChambersJack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

We have stood up an infrastructure division to centrally drive delivery but also to really examine forensically the project life cycle that exists, which takes too long. The decisions are nearly double in some projects what they were many years ago and that is impeding progress on delivery of capital. We have new infrastructure guidelines that were introduced in the previous Government. Those followed some of the learnings from the national children's hospital and other major capital projects. They set out the checks and balances on major capital projects and we have a major projects advisory group, which advises me and the respective project sponsor on cost control and value for money and independently assesses the business case involved. In many instances the project life cycle and the pure length of time it is taking are costing a significant amount when a project is completed. Really accelerating delivery should truncate the costs themselves. Separately, we are reviewing the public financial procedures that underpin current and capital expenditure within the State to better support fiscal discipline and budgetary decision-making.

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