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

The Government has committed to €165 billion in capital investment through the national development plan, NDP, published in 2021. As a percentage of national income, annual capital investment is now among the largest in the European Union. In 2023, almost €12 billion will fund vital infrastructure in areas such as housing, transport, education, enterprise, sport and climate action and will provide good outcomes for our people.

The national investment office, NIO, in my Department oversees and reports on Government-wide infrastructure investment under the National Development Plan 2021-2030. The NIO is also responsible for maintaining the national frameworks within which Departments operate to ensure appropriate accounting for and value for money in public capital expenditure, such as the public spending code. To answer the question on what that role looks like, it involves policy areas such as updating the capital appraisal guidelines, promoting the public spending code, overseeing the external assurance process and supporting the major project advisory group in its consideration of major projects.

The responsibility for the management and delivery of individual investment programmes within the allocations agreed under the national development plan rests with the individual Department and the individual Minister in each case. The renaming of my Department to specifically include NDP delivery has brought about a greater emphasis and mandate for the delivery of the NDP. In March, I announced a number of reforms to the public spending code, which will be replaced by a set of infrastructure guidelines aimed at enhancing project delivery for the NDP. These changes aim to reduce the administrative burden for Departments delivering capital projects while allowing them greater autonomy to pursue the delivery of their priority projects.

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