Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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275. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if there are plans to review the National Development Plan to increase the funding envelope to 2030, in light of increasing costs and new climate obligations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11463/23]

Paschal 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 National Development Plan 2021 – 2030 (NDP) published in October 2021 provides a detailed and positive vision for Ireland over the next 10 years, and delivers total public investment of €165 billion over the period 2021-2030. The NDP also set out the range of actions that are being taken to strengthen delivery, maximise value for money, and ensure to the greatest extent possible that projects are delivered on time, on budget and with the benefits targeted at the outset. In 2023, over €12 billion will be made available from the Exchequer for investment in public capital projects, which will provide more schools, homes, hospitals and other pieces of vital infrastructure. It is important to recognise that the country has already seen a step change in capital investment in a short period of time. In 2017, the total level of Exchequer capital stood at €4.6 billion, which has jumped significantly to the c.€12 billion this year.

The review of the NDP in 2021 was not tasked with setting out a specific blueprint for the achievement of the Climate Action Plan actions. Rather, the Departments in receipt of the capital investment allocations are directly responsible for developing a detailed suite of policies and measures to maximise the impact of this planned investment in delivering actions and achieving targets detailed in the Climate Action Plan. It is the effective implementation of these policies, which will need to blend regulation, behavioural change and taxation measures with direct Government investment that will lead to the achievement of Ireland’s climate ambitions.

In addition, as part of my increased mandate on NDP delivery, as reflected in the renaming of my Department, I will be working throughout 2023 to identify capacity and capability gaps across the public sector and construction sector in delivering the NDP, with meeting climate objectives as an area of focus.