Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 27 September 2023

Committee on Budgetary Oversight

Pre-Budget Engagement (Resumed): Ministers for Finance and Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform

Photo of Paschal DonohoePaschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I will in the time ahead prioritise three steps that will be really important to making faster progress on the NDP. The first is the legislation the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, will bring before the Oireachtas. That will be huge legislation that, if passed by the Oireachtas, will bring more stability to how planning decisions are made within our country and greater clarity as to how those decisions will be made in the future. From a planning perspective, I see that legislation, once published, being enacted and being critical to how we will deliver against our ambitions in the national development plan.

The second issue will be how we can resource our planning system to ensure that decisions on big planning applications for really important infrastructure projects are made in a more timely way. I have been working with the Minister on this topic over this year to make more resource available to An Bord Pleanála to allow that to happen.

The third piece, again looking ahead, will relate to the allocation of the further €2.25 billion to maintain the real value of the capital plan at a time inflation has been high. It will also look at what opportunities are there to move forward some projects that, for example, have got through the planning process but may need further funding to be turned into a reality.

Those are the three issues I will highlight for the rest of this year and into early next year that will help with the delivery of the national development plan.