Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The Government has committed to €165 billion in capital investment through the National Development Plan (NDP) published in 2021. As a percentage of national income, annual capital investment is now among the largest in the EU. In 2023, almost €12 billion will fund vital infrastructure in areas such as housing, transport, education, enterprise, sport and climate action. Achieving value for money and reducing cost and schedule overruns is a vital part of delivering the NDP.

My Department is responsible for the Public Spending Code (PSC)/Infrastructure Guidelines which sets the value for money requirements and guidance for evaluating, planning and managing Exchequer-funded capital projects. Management and delivery of investment projects and public services within allocation and the national frameworks is a key responsibility of every Department and Minister.

In March, I announced a number of reforms to this code aimed at enhancing project delivery for the NDP. The actions include significant changes to reduce the administrative burden for Departments and public bodies developing capital projects.

Some specific changes designed to streamline the project lifecycle and approval process include:

• The general threshold for major projects increasing from €100m to €200m, allowing for projects below this limit to progress more speedily through the appraisal and evaluation process.
• The reduction of the number of approval stages prior to implementation from 5 to 3, reducing the administrative burden on Government departments charged with developing and delivering projects.
• The removal of the requirement for a project to prepare a separate Strategic Assessment Report (SAR) at the start of the process. Instead, all the requirements previously required as part of a SAR must now be completed, and incorporated, as part of the Preliminary Business Case (PBC) at the first approval stage.

These changes have already been implemented through Government circular 06/2023. Further appraisal guidance will be published shortly, known as the Infrastructure Guidelines, as part of capital project development, which will supersede the existing Public Spending Code.