Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this question. The fact that the Government is committing a record amount of public money for the public capital investment programme underlines the level of importance we attach to this issue. We want to achieve regional balance and we recognise that there is a need for continued investment in infrastructure across our country. That includes measures in housing through the Housing for All programme; transport, where we have allocated €35 bullion out to 2030 for projects; climate action measures; investment in new schools;investment in new hospitals; and improvements to existing infrastructure. As the Deputy knows, I have introduced a number of important reforms, one of which the Deputy has touched on, namely the expansion of the membership of the Project Ireland 2040 delivery board to include new external members. That is an important reform and in addition, I have also set up a new major projects advisory group to advise my Department on the large capital projects that we have to adjudicate on and give our approval to through Government. We have also set up a new resource for line Departments in the form of a panel of external experts to assist them in bringing projects through the public spending code. The key issue is to identify problems early on in the process. That will prevent the incidence of the cost over-runs and project delays that we have seen too much of in the past, though we should acknowledge that the vast majority of projects are delivered on time and within budget. The reforms I have introduced will make a difference and will add significant additional rigour to the assessment of projects.

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