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

Public capital investment has a critical role to play in ensuring a whole of Government implementation of the new national planning framework. This is why the new national development plan was fully aligned with the national planning framework, all of which combined to deliver Project Ireland 2040.

Project Ireland 2040 moves beyond the approach of the past, which saw public capital investment spread very thinly and investment decisions which did not align with a spatial strategy. These practices contributed to some of the major issues that we face today as a country, particularly the predominance of Dublin alongside the challenges that face rural towns and communities.

The national development plan is therefore strictly aligned to the vision set out in the national planning framework and its ten national strategic outcomes, which were developed following extensive consultation over the course of 2017.

In adopting this approach, Project Ireland 2040 seeks to develop Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford as viable cities of scale which can act as alternatives and a counterbalance to the continued growth of Dublin and its surrounding region.

In doing so, these cities will act as drivers of growth for the wider region, including rural areas. The NDP, which was published in February, demonstrates the Government's commitment to meeting Ireland's infrastructure and investment requirements over the next ten years, through a total investment allocation of €116 billion over the period to 2027.

The NDP sets out gross voted capital expenditure allocations on a ministerial level for the period 2018 to 2022. In 2019, capital expenditure under the plan is set to increase by €1.5 billion, or 25% more than the 2018 allocation, which is a significant increase.

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