Mairéad Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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89. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform in relation to the national development plan, his plans for additional investment in infrastructure in the west of Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15892/25]

Mairéad Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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The Minister knows Galway, the west and Connemara. He has seen the impact Storm Éowyn continues to have in certain parts of Connemara and across Mayo. It is very clear from the impact of this storm and Storm Darragh that we seriously need investment in basic infrastructure throughout the west of Ireland. The need in this regard is particularly acute in certain parts of Connemara and Mayo. Will the Minister outline what plans he has for additional investment?

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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As Minister for public expenditure, infrastructure, public service reform and digitisation, I am responsible for setting the overall capital allocations across Departments and for monitoring monthly expenditure at departmental level. The responsibility for the management and delivery of individual investment projects or sectoral policy strategies within the allocations initially rests with the individual sponsoring Department in each case. Each Minister is responsible for deciding on the priority programmes and projects that will be delivered under their remit within the national development plan, NDP, and for setting out the timelines for delivery. As a result, expenditure is allocated and monitored on a departmental basis.

The Government has committed €165 billion of funding for capital investment under the NDP to 2030. An additional €2.25 billion was allocated in 2024 as part of an update to the NDP which set out revised capital ceilings from 2024 to 2026. In budget 2025, almost €15 billion was made available from the Exchequer for investment in public capital projects, along with €3 billion of funds from the sale of the State’s shareholding in AIB. This level of expenditure is pivotal to consolidate the progress already made, to support balanced regional development, to address key infrastructural bottlenecks more rapidly, and to lead to further improvements in living standards and competitiveness.

In addition, the recently agreed programme for Government sets out that the Government will prioritise an early review of the national development plan, which will be completed in July 2025. The review of the NDP will encompass all public capital investment, as I have mentioned, and will utilise State funds to support increased capital investment levels.

The northern and western region has already seen significant delivery of infrastructure under the NDP in the context of housing and many other projects.

I can list a number of regional transport projects that are important for the west. I could also refer to the national broadband plan and other important priorities.

The Deputy has seen the NDP and some of the projects listed in it. We are reviewing the plan and updating it in the context of the additional capital that is available and that will, as we have stated, be allocated in strategic areas. That will be completed by the summer.

Mairéad Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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I will be seeking a briefing on the review of the NDP and where it stands. The Minister mentioned housing, which is one of the basic infrastructures needed across Galway, Connemara and the State. I have to ask the Minister, because this was a hugely important issue during the general election campaign, about this number of 40,000 homes. The Deputy was Minister for Finance at the time. I am aware that he is now Minister for public expenditure. It is my understanding that he was advised on 6 November that the target of 40,000 homes would not be reached, but the Government parties continued to put that out to the public. This has a real-life impact on people. The housing crisis and homelessness are having a real-life disastrous impact on so many people. It is really serious to not have full transparency in that regard. Did the Minister bury this matter? What did he do with the information? Why was he not transparent about it? Who else in the Government did he tell? These are crucially important things the people should know.

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I reject the Deputy's assertions in respect of that matter. What she outlined relates to CSO and Central Bank data that was already in the public domain and that as debated in the Dáil on the day it was published by her colleague Deputy Doherty and the then Minister for housing, Deputy O'Brien. There were lots of projections across the public domain, and the Government obviously said it was disappointed with the final outturn relating to housing completions. That is why, in the context of the NDP review, we have set out that housing will be a central priority. We are particularly focusing on transport, energy, water and housing to unlock further supply in our economy. These are central to what we have set. As stated, the information the Deputy referenced was not new. It related to CSO and Central Bank data which was published in the weeks prior to that, and that is the context.

Mairéad Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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This was information that the Minister had. It was information that the Central Bank was pointing to housing outputs for 2024 similar to or slightly below the previous year. Does the Minister genuinely believe that people can have faith in the delivery of the NDP or of what the Government is saying about housing now when, during the general election campaign, two days after the information had been received, it told people that it would hit the 40,000 target? Did the Minister genuinely believe this target would be hit when he was in receipt of information like that? Does he think people can have faith in that? This is a huge crisis that is impacting on most people. There are women who cannot even leave women's refuges because they do not have anywhere to go. There are children who are in homeless accommodation or who cannot even access such accommodation in Galway city and county. This is really serious. Did the Minister honestly believe that the 40,000 target would be hit, even though he was were getting figures or briefings like this?

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister for housing responded to that on the day the CSO figures were published. There were lots of-----

Mairéad Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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I am asking you.

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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-----different projections which set out higher levels of completions and which were in the public domain. As has been previously said, the Government is disappointed with the final outturn of 2024.

Mairéad Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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Disappointed is not good enough for people.

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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That is why central to the review of the national development plan will be housing supply and infrastructure delivery.

Mairéad Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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Does the Minister think people can believe that?

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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We have a lot of constraints and barriers when it comes to housing supply which we need to unblock and which are undermining our ability to deliver the overall level of supply required to help people in the communities we all represent.

Mairéad Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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But they are not.

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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Similarly, investment in transport infrastructure unlocks housing development.

Mairéad Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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Are they going to sleep on buses?

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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We know about the deficit in water infrastructure. Supporting the capital plan Irish Water has will be fundamental to unlocking the overall housing supply we require. In addition, there are the many of the other capital projects the Deputy referenced around refuges and other areas of priority. That is why we are reviewing the NDP. We are also looking at the delivery systems that underpin capital investment. These need to be strengthened and streamlined in order that we can accelerate delivery from concept to completion.

Mairéad Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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Does the Minister think people can have faith in that?