Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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1659. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the projected spend on the €285 million investment on natural heritage, biodiversity and built heritage respectively, in each of the years 2018 to 2027 as outlined in the national development plan in respect of additional expenditure arising from the plan in tabular form. [16207/18]

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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The National Development Plan has provided the following details of my Department’s capital allocation over the next five years in the table below.This is the capital envelope from which my Department will deliver on the projects, schemes and programmes identified in “Investing in our culture, language and heritage” over the next five years.  For the years following 2022, the annual allocation will be advised as part of the annual estimates process based on the overall allocation for my Department under the NDP and having regard to the scheduling of projects and programmes under the plan.

The inclusion of this detail in the NDP has afforded my Department the necessary clarity to properly schedule the delivery of our projects and programmes.

In terms of the selection process, investments under Investing in our culture, language and heritage are subject to appraisal and evaluation in line with the Public Spending Code. This includes the consideration of a range of options prior to committing any funding to the project, an evaluation of the financial and economic implications of the project prior to procuring the project, and robust project management arrangements throughout the implementation phase. 

More details on the delivery of these projects and programmes will emerge as my Department goes through this process of appraising and planning for these important investments.  This process will provide more information on which to base decisions around the distribution of funding on a project by project, year by year basis within the annual capital allocation set out in the NDP and through the annual estimates process.