Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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64. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the extent to which he might be in a position to prioritise and encourage the provision of vital infrastructure, particularly where such provision is vital to economic recovery nationally and regionally; the extent to which public private partnerships or specific Government development bonds, as a means of addressing such issues without impact on the national balance sheet, can be authorised by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12329/15]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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In 2014, my Department undertook a review of the public capital programme. The review sought to assess all areas of public capital investment and to refresh the existing investment strategy and multi-annual envelopes to ensure that they are in line with emerging Government priorities and that our limited resources are focussed on the areas that can best support continued, sustainable and equitable growth.

While investment for economic growth is vital at a time when our economy is in recovery, we must also ensure that this growth is equitable and sustainable. For this reason, the capital allocations published in the Budget included increased investment for social housing, reflecting the Government's prioritisation of investment in this area. They also provided for continued investment in Education, to meet demographic demands in our schools, and in Health to allow the HSE to progress a number of large scale and priority projects.

The Government is committed to using a range of financing methods to deliver important infrastructure, including both Exchequer capital and also off-balance sheet mechanisms such as the extension of the PPP Programme announced in the Budget.  PPPs facilitate private sector investment and risk sharing in the provision of specific public infrastructure projects, and because of their funding and risk profile, PPP projects are not included in the calculations of General Government spending. This approach therefore allows the Government to supplement its traditional Exchequer funded capital programme with additional much needed investment across a range of areas without impacting on the GGB in the short term, but with the cost of the projects being borne over a much longer period.  However, in relation to Government development bonds, it has not traditionally been the custom to seek to link Exchequer borrowing to specific projects, as this limits the flexibility of the Government in managing the State's finances. 

It is my intention to use the forthcoming Capital Review to set out the Government's plans and priorities in relation to capital investment over the period 2015 to 2020, including both projects delivered by direct Exchequer investment and projects to be delivered by PPP.