Mary White (Fianna Fail)

The publication of the ESRI's mid-term evaluation of the national development plan and the community support framework has attracted much attention. As the Minister of State said in his comprehensive speech, those who take the time to read the evaluation will see that it is a broadly positive account of the plan's performance to date. The resilient performance of the Irish economy in the face of the global slowdown is most encouraging and has surprised many. Our unemployment rate remains at almost half the European average. Some 95% of our people are in employment. While growth has been subdued compared to the standards we enjoyed in the 1990s, we can still derive confidence from our performance.

It is clear from the ESRI's report that the NDP has contributed greatly to this resilient performance over the past two to three years. The four key objectives of the plan were continuing sustainable national economic and employment growth; consolidating and improving Ireland's economic competitiveness; promoting social inclusion; and fostering balanced regional development.

The ESRI authors, including renowned economists John FitzGerald and Conor McCarthy, make clear that the NDP has thus far made significant progress towards its objectives of continuing sustainable national economic and employment growth and consolidating and improving Ireland's economic competitiveness. Competitiveness is a big issue at the moment, so it is encouraging that the plan is having a positive effect in this regard. The NDP's underlying strategy remains as compelling and relevant as it was when it was first devised. The research in this ESRI report highlights the importance of tackling our deficit in physical infrastructure as a crucial component in reaching our economy's, and consequently society's, full potential.

We heard many negative comments on the report last week. We heard criticism from politicians on all sides. I believe this has masked one very interesting conclusion on the part of the authors, namely that "the macroeconomic returns from investment under the CSF/NDP are significantly higher than previously estimated." This is very encouraging news and it underscores the continuing importance of the Government's commitment to tackling our infrastructural deficit over the coming decade. Expenditure under the plan over the first three years raised the level of GNP by over 7% above what it would otherwise have been in 2002. A proactive and interventionist approach kept the economy in growth. A long-term strategy had a significant short-term gain.

In the case of social exclusion, the NDP has made a real impact, both specifically and also through the impact of all the programmes taken together. The single biggest item of expenditure has been social housing. The considerable investment in this area has had a major impact on promoting social inclusion and a positive effect on socially excluded groups. A dramatic increase in resources has been devoted to this priority – in 2003 the resources were roughly double what they were in 2000.