Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 6, inclusive, together.

Cabinet committee D works to ensure a co-ordinated approach in the areas of infrastructure investment and delivery, housing and climate action. The Cabinet committee last met on 31 January 2019 and the next meeting has been scheduled for 27 May 2019. There is significant work under way across each of the areas covered by the committee through Departments, agencies and interdepartmental groups such as the climate action high level steering group and the Project Ireland 2040 delivery board. These matters are also regularly considered at meetings of Government and in bilateral meetings with the relevant Ministers.

Significant progress is being made on the implementation of Project Ireland 2040. Through the national planning framework, NPF, it sets out our 20-year vision for Ireland’s future, balancing rural and urban development and linking it with the national development plan, NDP, which encompasses €116 billion in capital investment over ten years to meet the infrastructural needs of our growing population.

Earlier this month the Government launched the first annual report for Project Ireland 2040 and it is clear it is delivering better transport links, facilitating better health and

environmental outcomes and yielding more housing. For example, for the first time in decades three new hospitals are under construction, with one nearing completion. A total of 11 primary care centres will open this year and 26 more are being developed. By the end of the year, some 410 school projects will have been completed across the country or will have commenced construction, providing 40,000 additional or replacement school places, 200 modern science labs, 48 new or upgraded PE halls and the replacement of 600 prefabs. In addition, work is under way on several projects that have been promised for a long time, including the upgrade of the N4 in Sligo between Castlebaldwin and Collooney and the new north runway at Dublin Airport.

The four funds launched under Project Ireland 2040 have a total of €4 billion to invest across the areas of rural and urban regeneration and development, climate action and disruptive technologies innovation. The first round of funding allocations amounting to just over €300 million have been announced and will leverage further private sector investment to deliver on the

aims of Project Ireland 2040.

The Land Development Agency, LDA, another cornerstone initiative of Project Ireland 2040, was established on an interim basis in September 2018 and is working to ensure the optimum management of State land with an immediate focus on providing new homes, including social and affordable housing. Housing continues to be a priority for the Government and we have

seen strong growth in housing completions and leading indicators such as planning permissions, commencement notices and housing registration indicate a strong pipeline. In the 12 months to the end of March, almost 19,000 new homes were built in Ireland, an increase of 25% year on year. More than 2,600 homes were also brought out of long-term vacancy and back into use, while almost 800 dwellings in unfinished or ghost estates were completed, meaning the total number of new homes available for use increased by more than 22,000 in that time period. This figure does not include student accommodation. There was also strong delivery of publicly funded social housing in 2018. We are all aware of the significant challenge in meeting housing demand and tackling the ongoing issues in the housing market. For this reason, budget 2019 provided an increase of 25% in the housing budget to €2.6 billion, the largest ever budget for housing.

Delivering on our EU climate commitments for 2030 and transitioning to a competitive, low carbon, sustainable economy by 2050 are also priorities. We are investing €22 billion in climate action through the NDP, mainly led by State owned enterprises, to ensure that our future growth is regionally balanced and environmentally sustainable. In addition, the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Deputy Bruton, is currently finalising an all-of-Government climate action plan and intends to bring this to Government in June. This plan will have a strong focus on implementation, including actions with specific timelines and steps needed to achieve each action, assigning clear lines of responsibility for the delivery of each one. It will build on progress made to date and set out the steps which must be taken for Ireland to meet its climate action obligations.

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