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 2024, €13 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.

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. These interim arrangements were then made permanent in July 2023 which allow for more appropriate risk sharing in the delivery of public works contracts.

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. In 2023, 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 capital appraisal guidance (which have been introduced through the Infrastructure Guidelines which supercedes the Public Spending Code);
• 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 (which was carried out by the ESRI, with their report published in January this year).

This package represents a fresh approach to securing delivery as part of my Department’s enhanced remit around the NDP.

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.