Paudge Connolly (Cavan-Monaghan, Independent)
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Question 323: To ask the Minister for Finance if he proposes to introduce a new national development plan post-2006; the range and prioritisation of projects contained therein; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19978/05]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I will be putting proposals to Government shortly on the issue of a successor to the current national development plan, NDP, which will run until the end of 2006. As the Deputy is probably aware, previous NDPs have been a requirement of the European Commission to enable Ireland to draw down its allocation of Structural and Cohesion Funds. Unlike previous occasions, there is no requirement under the draft Structural Funds regulations for the period from 2007 to 2013 to prepare a national development plan.

An important new factor in this context is the introduction of the five-year rolling multi-annual capital envelopes in budget 2004. That is a major innovation and provides a medium-term financial framework for public capital investment. That gives Departments and implementing agencies relative financial certainty to plan capital programmes and projects in the medium term.

As regards project prioritisation, that is already generally delegated to Departments and agencies which must exercise that responsibility within the programme budget for the areas agreed by the Government and within the framework set out in my Department's guidelines for the appraisal and management of capital expenditure.