Joe Flaherty (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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60. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the action he is taking to get value for money under the National Development Plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11368/22]

Joe Flaherty (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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I am aware that the Minister recently announced the appointment of five external members to the Project Ireland 2040 delivery board. Heretofore the membership of the board was predominantly comprised of Secretaries General of the main spending Government Departments and the appointment of five new external members will bring additional knowledge, greater private sector experience and important independent and regional perspectives to the deliberations of this important board. Can the Minister advise on the actions he is taking to ensure he gets value for money under the NDP?

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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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.

Joe Flaherty (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the Minister’s comments and his enthusiasm for and commitment to this sector. His points on regional and balanced development were particularly timely and he will be aware that Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, recently shelved the funding for eight major road projects. I will go partisan on this point and say that the most important project within those eight would be the N4 upgrade from Mullingar past Longford. It is particularly disappointing that this money has been shelved. To date, €6 million has been spent on the project and were it to advance it would be well in excess of €100 million and would come under the remit of the major projects advisory group. I take on board the points the Minister makes on value for money and on ensuring from the outset that money is spent prudently and wisely. Surely the concept of having spent €6 million on a project to date and then suddenly pausing it does not make sense. I would hope that the Minister can take this away and look at it with his colleague, the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, and see if perhaps the additional necessary funding can be secured for all eight of those projects, but most importantly for the N4 upgrade.

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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While it is the direct responsibility of the individual line Minister to manage his or her capital budget, I acknowledge the need to make sure we have a pipeline of projects moving through the system. If it is the medium to long-term objective of Government that a particular project would be delivered then it makes sense for it to continue to move forward through the project lifecycle because various stages have to be passed through before a project goes to tender and on to the construction stage. One of the lessons learned from projects being stalled in the past is that when money then became available projects were not necessarily ready to absorb that capital and move to construction. The priority for me is to ensure that our capital budget is spent, that it is spent well and that we get value for money. We have an overall budget of €12 billion this year, which is a record level of investment by our country in our infrastructure. We had underspends in each of the last two years and Covid is the reason for that.

However, I certainly expect Departments to spend all of their money this year. Where projects are desirable and have merit, it makes sense for us to continue to bring them through the project lifecycle. I will work with the Deputy on that.

Joe Flaherty (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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I am heartened by the Minister's response to this issue. An additional €1.5 million this year will keep this project on track and allow the design team to continue with the route-selection works. Everything the Minister has said would echo the views of the midlands, generally. This is a critical infrastructure and road, not only for the midlands, but for the wider north-west region. It behoves us, as legislators and the Government, to ensure in the interest of balanced regional development that this road programme is put back on track this year. I hope that the Minister and his colleagues in Cabinet can ensure that the necessary funding comes into being to allow the road project proceed.

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Achieving regional balance requires us to invest in the regions and improve the infrastructure of the regions, be it necessary public transport links or road infrastructure. As the Deputy knows, we have an overarching programme for Government commitment that the ratio of new investment in transport will be 2:1 in favour of public transport, relative to road infrastructure. There is also, however, €360 million per annum that will be used for active travel measures. We see that being rolled out by my colleagues, the Minister, Deputy Ryan, and the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, in welcome investment in greenways and improved pedestrian and cycling facilities throughout the country. I acknowledge the Deputy's consistent representations on the issue and I am happy to try to work with him and the Minister, Deputy Ryan, and Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, to see whether we can make any progress over the period ahead.