Thomas Pringle (Donegal South West, Independent)
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7. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if the long-term capital spending plan will have a strong focus on rural regeneration, including active targeting of geographical barriers to economic growth, for counties such as Donegal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33420/15]

Thomas Pringle (Donegal South West, Independent)
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This question relates to the capital plan that was announced this week and how it will focus on rural areas and assist them in trying to address regional imbalances across the country.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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I thank the Deputy for his question. I published the plan, Building on Recovery: Infrastructure and Capital Investment 2016-2021, this week.  It sets out the Government's €27 billion Exchequer capital plan for the next six years.  It includes a new third phase in the Government's public private partnership, PPP, programme and is in addition to other State-led investments, bringing the total to €42 billion.

In terms of transport, the plan outlines an investment of €6 billion on roads across the country over the next seven years, including roads projects targeted at removing critical bottlenecks, some of which will be known to the Deputy, and upgrading inadequate sections. Additional investment will be provided for the continued development and improvement of sports facilities at regional and local levels and for further enhancement of the tourism offering through further investment in the Wild Atlantic Way, Ireland's Ancient East and other innovative tourism products.

As well as building schools across the country, which will be focused on demographic need, we will fund the installation of wireless networks and ICT hardware in all schools.

With regard to supporting regional development and sustaining communities, there are substantial investment commitments to support the roll out of broadband. The rural economy will benefit from the critical investment set out in the investment framework by a provision of €235 millionfor Leader. A new village renewal scheme has been set out to support the revitalisation of towns and villages.

As my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Harris, said, we are providing an investment of €430 million in flood risk mitigation across the country in areas where there is the greatest risk. We have provided extra funding also for the peatlands restoration programme to restore peatlands to their natural state.

The Government is committed to rural Ireland. We are committed to creating jobs on a sustainable basis across the country. The roll out of local enterprise offices provides an opportunity to increase engagement with the wider enterprise community to provide micro and small enterprises, which are the main employers in rural Ireland, with the funding and the supports they need. Over the lifetime of the plan, Exchequer investment will support 45,000 jobs in every part of the country.

Thomas Pringle (Donegal South West, Independent)
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With Dublin making up 42% of Ireland's GDP, there is a need to restructure and rebalance regional development and ensure that other rural parts of Ireland can compete with Dublin, never mind internationally.

I will focus on two aspects the Minister mentioned. On the village renewal scheme in rural Ireland, the plan provides for Exchequer funding of €5 million in the budget but that amounts to about €200,000 per local authority. That level of funding for each local authority is hardly what one would class as a significant investment that would help to regenerate rural areas.

On the broadband plan, it is vitally important that the roll out of the broadband plan targets the most disadvantaged areas, the regions and the most distant areas first to try to give them some chance to play catch-up over the coming years. I ask the Minister to focus on that when he is talking to the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources about it.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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I totally agree with the Deputy that we need to have regional balance. That has been the focus of the Government from the outset. If we consider job creation across the country, the national figure is a 3% increase in the past 12 months. The regional figures are much better than that. In my own area, for example, the south east, it is better. The focus of the Government has been on ensuring that every region is supported by this measure. The strategy to ensure fast-track broadband is available across the country to everybody is very important in that context.

Although the Deputy mentioned the €30 million for the new rural programme, that is a small subset of the moneys that are available. As he will know, I have agreed a multi-billion euro investment for rural Ireland, co-funded by the European Union with my colleague, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, which will impact on every village and area of the country. The schools, roads and primary health care systems we are building will support and enhance every region of the country.

Thomas Pringle (Donegal South West, Independent)
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On schools, there is a commitment in the plan to do away with temporary accommodation within schools but arising from a question to the Department of Education and Skills, and I accept that is not the Minister's Department, it did not even have a list of all the schools in Donegal that are in temporary accommodation so how can we expect that it will deal with the problem?

That leads me to the question of whether the funding projections are correct. What role does the Minister's Department play in terms of dealing with other Departments to make sure they have the right figures?

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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The Department of Education and Skills has direct Exchequer funding over the horizon of this programme of €3.8 billion and another €200 million in public private partnerships, PPPs, aimed at the IT sector, which again can assist the regions.

In terms of prefabs, the first objective of this Government was to eliminate hired-in prefabs in all schools. That has been achieved. The next objective is to eliminate the temporary buildings the Deputy spoke about, namely, bought prefabs, and I am assured by my colleague, the Minister for Education and Skills, that the resources she has asked for and that I provided will achieve that objective in the lifetime of this programme.