Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 360, 361 and 362 together.

Last Wednesday, March 27, the Government agreed revised capital allocations totalling €2.25 billion out to 2026. The National Development Plan (NDP) 2021-30 published in October 2021 set out €165 billion of funding to support capital projects across the country. As set out in the Summer Economic Statement (SES) 2023, an additional €2.25 billion was made available to be allocated in the 2024 to 2026 period. This funding will facilitate the progression of important projects and enable more rapid development of key Programme for Government commitments, such as the delivery of actions to fulfil our climate action plan commitments, the provision of more housing and enhanced education facilities.

Following the conclusion of a more than 30 bilateral meetings which took place from January to March with my Ministerial colleagues, the distribution of the additional €2.25 billion across Departments has now been agreed by Government. This builds on the existing funding already available under the NDP out to 2026 and it will mean more schools, housing, transport and healthcare projects can be progressed and delivered for our people.

The updated capital allocations for 2025 and 2026 are set out below. These allocations have been informed by the ESRI report on the NDP, Departmental submissions and the bilateral meetings held with my Ministerial colleagues, as well as meetings between officials across Government Departments.

The table below shows the final agreed allocations which distributes all the available funding, including the €2 billion additional funding granted to capital for these years in the SES last year.

-	2024*	2025	2026
Ministerial Vote Groups	NDP Core Capital (excl. Non-Core, EU funds etc.)	RevisedNDPCapital	Revised NDPCapital
	€ million	€ million	€ million
Agriculture, Food and the Marine	287	300	305
Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth	74	140	180
Defence	176	215	220
Education	940	1,300	1,300
Enterprise, Trade and Employment	584	611	625
Environment, Climate and Communications	950	1,110	1,270
Finance	28	28	24
Foreign Affairs	25	35	35
Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science	620	670	725
Health	1,220	1,460	1,560
Housing, Local Government and Heritage	3,866	4,196	4,336
Justice	274	310	330
Public Expenditure and Reform	323	357	377
Rural & Community Development	201	210	220
Social Protection	16	17	17
Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media	235	255	295
Transport	2,664	2,850	3,350
Other Funds:
European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)	115	115	100
Shared Island Fund	150	150	190

* An additional €250 million was made available in 2024, and this funding has formed the basis of agreements with a small number of Departments to meet in-year pressures that are already evident or may become evident as the year progresses.

The above amounts honour and build on the committed uplifts in allocations to Ministerial Vote Groups under the NDP 2021-2030 published in October 2021. The allocations are also aligned with the funding commitments required to deliver the ‘Housing for All’ strategy over the coming years, and with other priority commitments of the Programme for Government including but not limited to: Health, Education, Transport and Climate action.

Overall capital allocations out to 2030 were published in the NDP 2021-30. The setting of sectoral allocations for each Department beyond 2026 is not under consideration at this time.

The additional allocations of capital funding to 2026 will support key projects and programmes under the NDP such as:

• Further delivery of immediate Public Transport projects such as Dart+, BusConnects and Cork Commuter Rail;

• Additional investment in the Social and Affordable Housing programmes;

• Further delivery of Student Accommodation through Universities;

• Additional Acute Hospital Beds (in excess of 1,500 beds already funded);

• Enhanced biomethane investment (in addition to ReCoverEU funding);

• Regional labs investment and additional veterinary provision;

• Upgrading of embassies abroad;

• Funding the Level of Ambition 2 programme in the Defence Forces;

• Public and Private Sector Retrofitting;

• Enhanced Prison Service Provision and investment in Garda Capital; and

• Further investment in the Local Improvement Scheme and Community Recognition Fund.

The proportion of funding allocated to new projects or to address construction inflation in a matter for the individual Minister and Department in each sector. The delivery of projects has been challenged by over recent years by the continued impact of construction inflation on projects. However, it is a matter for individual Departments to prioritise projects for delivery within their overall agreed capital ceilings. In this regards, achieving value for money and reducing cost and schedule overruns will continue to be a vital part of delivering the NDP.