Kieran O'Donnell (Fine Gael)
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The Cathaoirleach might let me know when I am coming to the end of my time.

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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I will ring the bell when the Senator has 30 seconds left.

Kieran O'Donnell (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy D'Arcy, to the Chamber again. This issue is in connection with the mid-term review of the national capital investment plan. It is an issue I feel very strongly about. The review took place in the month of April. More particularly, at that time I held a public information meeting in the Great National South Court Hotel, Raheen, in Limerick city, on Tuesday, 18 April to encourage people to make submissions on the M20, which is the Limerick to Cork motorway. I regard it as the single most important piece of infrastructure Ireland needs. I would go so far as to say that without it, we cannot have balanced regional development. Dublin is bursting at the seams, so to speak. It is doing exceptionally well, but I am of the view that Dublin can only take so much capacity. We are a relatively small island, but if we cannot have motorway connection from Cork to Limerick to Galway, and we cannot get from, say, Cork to Limerick in an hour and Cork to Galway in two hours, we do not have balanced regional development.The existing motorway from Limerick to Cork, in particular from Limerick to Mallow, is impossible to travel on. Anyone who knows it will know about the bottlenecks at Charleville and Buttevant, in particular down by the quarry. This matter is very much to the fore in people's minds, in particular in Limerick but also in Cork and everywhere along the western seaboard, including Galway, because we need to have connection. The Minister of State might indicate how the mid-term capital review is progressing, the anticipated timeframe for the collation of information, and where the M20 stands in this process.

At the start of this year, the Minister, Deputy Shane Ross, agreed to my proposal to allocate €1 million to Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, formerly the National Roads Authority, to allow for the recommencement of planning work in respect of the M20. I thank him for that. The allocation has allowed TII to recommence planning, engage consultants and do the pre-planning work required before the main design feature gets under way. As we stand, no further time is being lost. The key element now is to ensure that when the mid-term capital review is complete, we can effectively get the planning and design phase under way for the M20 with immediate effect. We can do it on a staged basis. The part between Limerick and Mallow is the most critical. That is where considerable time is lost. We must ensure that the M20 project is commenced. The mid-term capital review last April was very welcome. There is considerable demand for the project in Limerick. Well over 200 people attended the public consultation meeting I held in the South Court Hotel on Tuesday, 18 April. What people now want to see is action.

The Taoiseach is on record as saying he will look for this to be in place by 2023. That is extremely achievable but on the basis that the M20, the Limerick-Cork motorway, gets the green light under the mid-term capital review. We must see the design, route selection and construction taking place by 2023.

Michael D'Arcy (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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The Programme for a Partnership Government committed to additional capital investment over the period of the capital plan to 2021, to be allocated on the basis of the outcome of a review of that plan. This review is ongoing. The process will guide and inform the decision by the Government on revised capital allocations made to Departments at budget time in October. The review is also an important input to the long-term ten-year capital plan, intended to be finalised before the end of the year. Submissions on the review and the additional funding available for allocation were sought from Departments in January 2017 and are currently under review by my Department.

With regard to conducting the review of the capital plan, it is a matter for each Department in the first instance to identify its sectoral priorities and projects in its submission for any additional funding under the review. The recommendations made by each Department will play an important role in ensuring that the additional funding is aligned with priorities, in terms of overall economic and social returns from increased capital investment, for example. A public consultation process was also held in April to ascertain the views of the public and key stakeholders on what our national infrastructural priorities should be. This consultation also sought views on infrastructure investment priorities beyond the period of the capital plan. This will also help to formulate the longer-term ten-year plan.

The assessment of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform of the submissions received as part of the review will be based on relevant evidence and research, such as on infrastructural capacity and demand analysis carried out by the Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service. The Department is liaising closely with the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government in order to ensure close alignment with the emerging teams of the new national planning framework, due this year.Alongside the capital review, a public investment management assessment, PIMA, is being carried out by the International Monetary Fund, IMF, this month. It will evaluates the design and effectiveness of the institutions which shape decision-making at the three key stages of the public investment cycle, namely, planning investment, the allocation of investment to the right sectors and implementing investment. The IMF's assessment will contribute to the analysis of the systems in place, the planning allocation and delivering on future infrastructure priorities in the context of the ten-year plan. All of this work being carried out by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform will ensure additional capital measures available will be targeted at priority capital infrastructure required to support Ireland’s medium-term growth potential and underpin social cohesion. It is expected the review process will be completed in quarter three of 2017 to enable the Government to make the final decisions in due course on how the remaining capital should be allocated

Kieran O'Donnell (Fine Gael)
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Does the Minister of State expect the review to take place before the announcement of the budget in October? If so, will it happen in September? Is the Government looking at various funding mechanisms for capital projects such as European Investment Bank funding? Will he outline the discussions taking place in that regard? How important is a project of the magnitude of the M20 Limerick-Cork motorway project in the Government's priorities in the context of balanced regional development?

Michael D'Arcy (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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There is a clear understanding and realisation the development of infrastructure of this type benefits sectors and regions. When speaking about my area of responsibility, financial services, it is important for the body politic to understand infrastructure development should be viewed not on a county by county but a regional basis. Anywhere there is an improvement in connectivity, whether it be broadband, motorways or rail services, a sector will improve. We understand this and are clear that these areas need to be improved. I personally would consider the M20 project as one of the priorities of the State. Two of the State’s largest urban areas are not connected with a motorway of a sufficient standard. However, I cannot predict what the dynamics of the review will be when it is concluded in quarter three this year, but I anticipate that the project will be one of the priorities. The importance of the motorway must be accepted.

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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As the Minister of State travelled from Wexford yesterday evening, I am sure the extension of the M11, including the Enniscorthy bypass, was close to his heart. I could have done with a motorway yesterday coming from west Cork.

Michael D'Arcy (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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The Cathaoirleach will have one next year.

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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I hope I will still be Cathaoirleach next year.