Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The NDP set the target of expenditure as a share of GNI to properly account for inflation, especially when we are talking about a multiannual plan and indeed a multi-billion euro plan like the NDP. Since 2021 we have seen the high levels of inflation, particularly in construction, yet the funding was never adjusted to account for it. Budget after budget, the Government has acted like inflation did not exist. Does the Minister really expect people to believe that the ambition set out in the national development plan can be met when funding has not been adjusted to account for inflation? Again I ask the Minister to outline the cumulative underspend on capital projects. In 2021, the NDP was underfunded by almost €1 billion, in 2022 it was underfunded by €2.2 billion, and in 2023 the NDP was underfunded by €2.3 billion. This year, the NDP was projected to be underfunded by €2.4 billion. That is a €7.8 billion under-investment in badly needed capital projects.

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