Written answers

Thursday, 19 January 2023

Department of Public Expenditure and Reform

National Development Plan

Photo of Richard Boyd BarrettRichard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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124. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the role his Department has in ensuring the national development plan fulfils plans for expansion of acute, primary and community care in line with Sláintecare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2368/23]

Photo of Paschal DonohoePaschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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As Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform I am responsible for setting the overall capital allocations across Departments. Management and delivery of individual investment projects within the allocations agreed under the NDP is a key responsibility of every Department and Minister. The delivery of the Sláintecare policy is the responsibility of the Minister for Health and his Department, including delivery of infrastructure priorities that may support Sláintecare or other healthcare priorities.

In publishing the National Development Plan 2021 – 2030 (NDP), there was significant engagement with all sectors, including the Department of Health. The NDP provides public investment of €165 billion over the period 2021-2030 and established the Government’s over-arching investment framework and broad direction for investment priorities for this decade. The Department of Health was allocated almost €5.7 billion over the period 2021 to 2025 to invest in infrastructure priorities over that period.

It is important to note that the NDP is fundamentally a high-level financial and budgetary plan, which sets out the framework and broad direction for investment priorities. It includes Exchequer allocations for Departments for the period 2021-2025 to support the delivery of the ten national strategic outcomes (NSOs) identified in the National Planning Framework, including investments in healthcare under NSO 10.

In relation to ongoing project engagement, my Department engages with the Department of Health to provide independent scrutiny for major public capital projects over €100 million under the Public Spending Code, in particular through the Major Projects Advisory Group (MPAG). The MPAG scrutinises project proposals and external reviews as a prerequisite to seeking Government approval for major projects at key points in the project lifecycle. The Department of Health also provide regular updates on key NDP projects to the Investment Projects and Programmes Tracker and the Project Ireland 2040 Annual Reports published by my Department.

In addition to the overall NDP delivery monitoring mechanisms, the typical high-level expenditure oversight arrangements between my Department and the Department of Health also apply. These focus on overall regular monthly monitoring of spending out-turn compared to budget. However, it is a matter for the Department of Health in the first instance to ensure that capital projects are delivered within budget.

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