Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The programme for a partnership Government sets out the ambition to build a strong economy and deliver a fair society. The programme identifies a number of policy challenges and for each of these challenges a clear, unambiguous, high-level ambition is also identified. Examples of these ambitions include meeting the target of building 25,000 new homes needed every year by 2020; creating 200,000 jobs by 2020, including, as Deputy Calleary noted, 135,000 outside Dublin; reducing waiting times in the health sector; and spending at least €6.75 billion more on public services by 2021 compared with 2016.

As stated in the programme, for every policy challenge, the new Government will ensure a balance is struck between addressing urgent priorities and engaging in long-term planning. As outlined in the programme, economic repair must be complemented by social repair. An essential foundation for delivery of this objective is sound public finances. Consequently, the Government is committed to boosting public expenditure in a sustainable way and will introduce budgets that will involve at least a 2:1 split between investment in public spending and tax reductions. In aggregate, the programme sets out a commitment to spend at least €6.75 billion more on public services in 2021 than it is spending this year.

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The Government is also committed to providing a cumulative €4 billion in additional Exchequer capital investment up to 2021, over and above the amounts in the capital plan. Specific proposals for these increases will be made to the Oireachtas in due course.

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