Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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119. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the consideration he gave to expanding capital investment in areas such as housing, climate and energy savings prior to budget 2023 in order to reduce the need for large current expenditures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48395/22]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy is aware, my Department is responsible for the allocation of public funds across each area of Government spending and to ensure that expenditure is managed by Departments in line with these allocations. The responsibility for the management and delivery of investment projects, within the agreed allocations and within the national frameworks such as the Public Spending Code, rests with the individual sponsoring Department in each case.

The National Development Plan (NDP) 2021-30, published last year, demonstrates the Government’s commitment to meeting Ireland’s infrastructure and investment needs over the medium term horizon. The NDP 2021-2030 provides €165 billion in public capital funding alongside a detailed and positive vision for Ireland up to 2030 as part of Project Ireland 2040. In Budget 2023 last week, I announced an additional €800 million which will be made available under the NDP for core capital spending to help in delivering the largest, greenest and most ambitious infrastructure plan in the history of the State. In overall terms, over €12 billion will be available next year for vital infrastructure investment. Capital investment next year will be 4 1/2% of national income (GNI*) well above the EU average in recent years of 3% (GDP). This represents a very substantial commitment of resources.

This investment will be delivered in line with the National Planning Framework with increases in nearly every sector, but with a particular focus on housing, climate action, transport and health. Capital allocations are set out in the NDP on a Departmental basis for the period to 2025 and on an aggregate basis out to 2030. The capital expenditure ceilings detailed in the NDP are cognisant of the overall capability of the construction sector to deliver on the NDP and of the appropriate share of National Income being devoted to infrastructure. In addition, extensive analysis was conducted in the NDP in relation to sectoral demands, the macroeconomic context and a highly engaged public consultation process. The levels of capital spending, at close to 5% of GNI*, are already among the highest in the EU and are close to the limit of the overall capability to deliver in the coming decade. In these circumstances, the work detailed as part of the NDP provides assurance that the total quantum of the NDP allocation and the sectoral shares within that continue to be appropriate as part of Budget 2023.