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 and for monitoring monthly expenditure at Departmental level.

National Strategic Outcome 6 of the National Development Plan 2021-2030 provides for high quality international connectivity. 2022 saw clear progress against this goal including through the delivery of a number of key projects such as: the delivery of Dublin airport’s new North Runway which is a key piece of strategic national infrastructure for current and future generations in Ireland, and the Shannon Foynes Port Company’s (SFPCs) Infrastructure Development Programme is well underway, which includes land purchase and site development for a new port logistics park at Foynes Port and the Foynes Rail Reinstatement. This investment programme will improve international connectivity and increase capacity and external connectivity with the upgrade of the N69 and the reinstatement of the Limerick-Foynes rail line.

In Dublin, the Dublin Port is progressing implementation of its Masterplan 2040 to ensure that the Port can provide for future sustainable growth. The Masterplan will also facilitate changes in seaborne trade in goods and passenger movements to and from Ireland. Approximately 25 per cent of the overall project has been completed to date and Dublin Port Company has now secured all of the planning permissions required for the major development works planned on the northern side of the port.

In addition, I welcome the recent contract award to commence work on the essential upgrade of Terminal 7 at Rosslare Europort. These upgrade works are necessary to provide permanent Brexit infrastructure at Rosslare Europort to ensure compliance with EU Customs and other regulations. There are also plans progressing for the development of large-scale facilities at the port for the development of offshore renewable energy off the east coast of Ireland.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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47. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the extent to which delivery of the national development plan is in accord with expectations; if any issues have arisen or continue to arise that might impede the progress; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30952/23]

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 National Development Plan (NDP) are key responsibilities of every Department and Minister.

However, the Government and I acknowledge that the significant investment under the NDP does not come without delivery challenges. As you know, delivery of some NDP projects has been adversely impacted over the past three years as a result of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. I am also acutely aware of the challenges that the construction industry has faced in terms of material price inflation, labour supply constraints, and supply chain disruption. As a result, in order to safeguard the delivery of key NDP projects, in January 2022, my Department introduced measures to address inflation for new contracts and tenders. Furthermore, in May 2022, a new set of measures to apportion additional inflation costs between the parties to public works contracts were introduced.

In terms of labour supply, I want to acknowledge the progress being made in terms of construction apprenticeships. In 2022, there was a total of 5,628 registrations in construction and construction-related apprenticeship programmes. This represented an increase of 26% on the pre-covid 2019 figure. In addition, I am aware that 39,955 employment permits were issued in 2022. Of these, 1,474 or 3.7% were for the construction sector.

Nevertheless, no-one is any doubt that the need to ensure timely project delivery must be part of the Government’s focus to respond effectively to the pressing challenges of our time, particularly in areas like housing, health and climate. The renaming of my Department as the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform (DPENDR), has brought about a greater emphasis and mandate for the delivery of the NDP. In light of this new role, a review of the support structures and levers available across Government to maximise delivery of projects was undertaken. As a result, a series of actions and reforms were identified as priorities to improve delivery of NDP projects, including reducing the administrative burden on Departments charged with infrastructure delivery. Earlier this year, I secured Government approval for six priority actions which are:

• Significant changes to reduce the administrative burden in delivering major capital projects, through measures to streamline the Public Spending Code (to become the Infrastructure Guidelines);
• I am now taking a direct role in overseeing delivery of the NDP through chairing the Project Ireland 2040 Delivery Board;
• Capacity reviews of departments and agencies with significant delivery programmes to be carried out, where appropriate, to ensure that adequate resources for project delivery are in place;
• Additional reforms to the Capital Works Management Framework, which sets out the contracts used for public capital projects;
• Direct reporting to Government on NDP delivery on a quarterly basis throughout 2023 and 2024 and
• An independent evaluation of NDP priorities and capacity.

I am confident that the combination of the six priority actions above will boost the delivery of the critical infrastructure we need to support a growing economy and higher living standards for those living here. In particular, I believe input of experts on the Project Ireland 2040 Delivery Board will highlight the key impediments to project delivery and I will work towards delivering mitigating actions to boost project delivery. In addition, my Department will continue to work closely with the construction sector in order to improve efficiency and enhanced delivery through the Construction Sector Group.