Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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16. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will report on the external assurance process for major capital investment projects announced in December 2021; if part of the mandate for the associated major projects advisory group will be to improve the timeline of delivering major capital projects versus the risk of increasing bureaucratic delays; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2449/22]

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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It is vital that increased effort is made to streamline the delivery of large capital projects. Too many communities are awaiting the delivery of important capital projects. Any changes to or delays in timelines are simply causing a loss of good faith when it comes to informing the public. What is the Minister’s Department doing to deal with this issue?

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Dillon very much for his question. The update to the public spending code in 2019 combined, with lessons learned from domestic projects and international best practice, highlighted the need for more structured scrutiny of major public investment projects, particularly in the areas of planned delivery, costings and risk. This is to ensure that Government is making decisions with a full picture of the proposal, its costs, risks and benefits. The revised national development plan, NDP, pledges to restructure the oversight and implementation of capital projects to strengthen scrutiny of major public investment proposals and drive improved project performance and value for money. It is important to acknowledge that the majority of public investment projects are delivered on budget and on time and there is a high level of professionalism across the sectors. However, having recognised the higher-risk profile of larger projects, new procedures have been introduced in order to improve project outturns, avoid cost overruns and avoid scheduled delays.

As the Depuity is aware, my Department has put in place an external assurance process, EAP, to provide independent project scrutiny at key decision stages. This will involve independent expert reviews at two key stages in the project life cycle under the public spending code. The purpose of this is to improve value for money and to support funding Departments and the Government with expert insight. This process is for major public capital projects which cost in excess of €100 million. Very often, the public spending code and the external insurance process can get blamed for delays where that process does not even apply. This process focuses on issues such as cost, risk and ability to deliver.

As the Deputy will be aware, a new major projects advisory group has been established to further strengthen project management. As a prerequisite to seeking Government approval for projects at the relevant decision points, project proposals and external reviews will be scrutinised by the advisory group. These new arrangements bring Ireland into line with leading international performers and meet a recommendation of the International Monetary Fund's public investment management assessment of Ireland. It is my assessment that these safeguards will not delay projects but are there to streamline them and to avoid mistakes and risks materialising.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

It should be noted that timelines associated with public spending code compliance are a fraction of the time required for compliance with the range of statutory requirements such as planning, environmental impact assessment, habitats directive and appropriate assessment. In addition, many public spending code steps can be undertaken in parallel with other project development phases. Experience in countries that have introduced similar independent assurance processes shows that such arrangements reduce project schedule delay and project cost overrun.

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister very much for his reply. One very good example is the Crossmolina flood relief scheme. Local communities desperately need to see this project commence as soon as possible. They have waited patiently as it has gone through formal process after formal process. We must look seriously at the need to speed up such a process into the future. I am particularly disappointed with the delays relating to this project because I was previously advised in replies to parliamentary questions I submitted last December that a decision was imminent. Needless to say, the project appears no closer to going to tender commencement as of today. These delays are very frustrating to communities that need projects of local importance to proceed. We need to look seriously at the mechanisms to prevent project timelines being stalled beyond a reasonable period.

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I again acknowledge the Deputy's continued interest in the Crossmolina flood relief scheme and, indeed, that of Deputy Calleary and others. It is a scheme that the Government is committed to advancing. I acknowledge the great work of the OPW on this project. As the Deputy will be aware, the specific role I have lies in either giving or not giving consent in respect of projects. I expect to receive a recommendation very shortly on this specific project. I assure the Deputy that as soon as I have a recommendation, I will make a prompt decision and will publish details of it accordingly. I look forward to doing that.

The people in Crossmolina are very anxious to see the scheme advanced. Much good work has been done to get to this point. The statutory processes can be frustrating for all concerned, but we have to ensure that in making a decision and that when consent is granted for a project, we insulate it, insofar as is possible, from the legal risk of a successful judicial review. The reality is that more and more schemes are becoming subject to judicial reviews. As result, we have to ensure that the process is rigorous and will stand up to the possibility of legal challenge.

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I appreciate the Minister's commitment and that of the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, to deliver this project. I note the announcement on the formation of the major project advisory group last month. I understand that the group's primary role is to ensure strong governance at critical junctures in the context of the delivery of major projects, which is very welcome. I hope that we would operate on the basis of streamlining project timelines for delivery as opposed to adding further delays. I would appreciate the Minister's assurance that we will look seriously at project delivery in a more earnest manner. This matter has certainly highlighted for me the issues relating to project delivery. We do not want to drift into a situation where project timelines are moving at a snail's pace because that would be extremely damaging to public faith in the ability of this Government to deliver such as that to which I refer.

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I again thank the Deputy. I want to reassure him that we have a very sharp focus on project delivery across Government. We have agreed a new national development plan with a total of €165 billion in funding out to 2030. I want to see that money well spent on the projects that we all want to see advanced over the next number of years. Ensuring that we have the appropriate checks and balances in place from the taxpayer's point of view is important. However, it is also important that we keep projects moving and achieve our end goal, which is to get projects built and delivered for the communities that require them. I assure the Deputy that this is an absolute priority for Government and we look forward to working to fulfil that over the period ahead.