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. The responsibility for the management and delivery of individual investment projects or sectoral policy strategies, within the allocations agreed under the National Development Plan (NDP), rests with the individual sponsoring Department in each case. Each Minister is responsible for deciding on the priority programmes and projects that will be delivered under their remit within the NDP and for setting out the timelines for delivery.

NSO 4 – Sustainable Mobility aims to invest in high-quality sustainable mobility to improve the quality of life of all our citizens, support our transition to a low-carbon society and enhance our economic competitiveness. The Department of Transport published the National Investment Framework for Transport in Ireland (NIFTI) in 2021 which sets out the prioritisation for future investment in the land transport network.

The right transport investment helps to deliver high-quality travel and supports positive outcomes for society, the environment and the economy. Investment in NSO 4 projects to be delivered in support of Project Ireland 2040 over the coming years include the DART+ Programme, which is a series of projects that will create a full metropolitan area DART network for Dublin with all of the lines linked and connected.

BusConnects is an investment programme to fundamentally transform the bus systems in our major cities, so that journeys for passengers by bus will be fast, reliable, punctual, convenient and affordable.

The National Transport Authority is in the process of developing cycling plans for each county under the CycleConnects plan.

Further details of projects and programmes being delivered under NSO 4 can be found in the latest capital investment tracker, which I published yesterday and provides a composite update on the progress of all major investments with an estimated cost of greater than €20 million. Accompanying the tracker, the myProjectIreland interactive map details projects across the country and provides details on specific projects by county, and contains smaller investments such as schools and social housing projects. Search facilities also allow citizens to view projects in their regional area, by city, by county or by eircode.

The Project Ireland 2040 capital investment tracker and myProjectIreland interactive map are all available on gov.ie/2040.

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

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. The responsibility for the management and delivery of individual investment projects or sectoral policy strategies, within the allocations agreed under the National Development Plan (NDP), rests with the individual sponsoring Department in each case. Each Minister is responsible for deciding on the priority programmes and projects that will be delivered under their remit within the NDP and for setting out the timelines for delivery.

The Government has committed €165 billion funding for capital investment, as set out in the NDP published in October 2021. This level of expenditure was considered and agreed in order to support those sectors that would be key in delivering the ten National Strategic Outcomes (NSOs) identified in the National Planning Framework (NPF). Following the conclusion of more than 30 bilateral meetings which took place from January to March this year with my Ministerial colleagues, the distribution of an additional €2.25 billion in capital funding across Departments for the period 2024-26 was agreed by Government in March 2024. This builds on the existing funding already available under the NDP out to 2026 and it will mean more schools, housing, transport, healthcare projects and enhanced cultural and sporting amenities can be progressed and delivered for our people.

The NDP contains expenditure commitments for a range of strategic investment priorities which will contribute towards the achievement of the NSOs.

With these points noted, I would be glad to give the Deputy an overview of the NSO 7 which is the delivery of Enhanced Amenity and Heritage. Ireland’s heritage – is of fundamental importance to all aspects of our society, our identity, our well-being and our economy.

Investment in our heritage has the dual benefit of protecting our natural and historic built environment while improving health, wellbeing and providing a catalyst for the economy through the development of recreational activities and the expansion of tourism as appropriate within heritage sites.

Heritage investment priorities include: development of our natural parks and reserves, and safeguarding Ireland’s Historic Environment through the Built Heritage Investment Scheme and Historic Structures Fund.

Investment priorities include: the enhancement of sports facilities throughout Ireland with the Sports Capital and Equipment Programme and Large Scale Sports Infrastructure Fund; Digitisation of the National Collections; and, the National Cultural Institutions Investment Programme. Specific projects range from the refurbishment of the Crawford Art Gallery in Cork, to the development of world-class sporting facilities at the Sport Ireland Campus. Investment priorities for tourism in the short term will include the further development and promotion of the regional tourism experience brands such as the Wild Atlantic Way, Ireland’s Ancient East, and Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands.

The Government is committed to detailing progress on the delivery of the NDP at regular intervals and details of projects and programmes being delivered under NSO 7 can be found in the latest capital investment tracker, which I published yesterday and provides a composite update on the progress of all major investments with an estimated cost of greater than €20 million. Accompanying the tracker, the myProjectIreland interactive map details projects across the country and provides details on specific projects by county, and contains smaller investments such as schools, cultural and sporting amenities and social housing projects. Search facilities also allow citizens to view projects in their regional area, by city, by county or by eircode.

The Project Ireland 2040 capital investment tracker and myProjectIreland interactive map are all available on gov.ie/2040.

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

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. The responsibility for the management and delivery of individual investment projects or sectoral policy strategies, within the allocations agreed under the National Development Plan (NDP), rests with the individual sponsoring Department in each case. Each Minister is responsible for deciding on the priority programmes and projects that will be delivered under their remit within the NDP and for setting out the timelines for delivery.

NSO 8 – Transition to a Climate-Neutral and Climate-Resilient Society requires a radical restructuring of our society and economy to reduce fossil fuel use and move rapidly to a climate-neutral economic model by 2050. Investment in NSO 8 will not only contribute to the objective of a 51% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 but also lay the pathway to achieve the national climate objective of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The Climate Action Plan 2024, which was published in December 2023, sets out the actions, measures, policies and plans to meet the emission reduction targets required by our carbon budgets and sectoral emission ceilings. The plan contains actions Ireland must implement to meet our emissions reduction targets and to achieve net zero emissions no later than 2050.

In recognition of the need for additional investment to assist Ireland deal with the transition to climate neutrality, and deal with nature, water and biodiversity degradation, the Future Ireland Fund and Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund Bill 2024 was published in April. The fund will support designated environmental projects specifically related to the achievement of climate and nature goals.

Further details of projects and programmes being delivered under NSO 8 can be found in the latest capital investment tracker, which I published yesterday and provides a composite update on the progress of all major investments with an estimated cost of greater than €20 million. Accompanying the tracker, the myProjectIreland interactive map details projects across the country and provides details on specific projects by county, and contains smaller investments such as schools and social housing projects. Search facilities also allow citizens to view projects in their regional area, by city, by county or by eircode.

The Project Ireland 2040 capital investment tracker and myProjectIreland interactive map are available on gov.ie/2040.

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

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. The responsibility for the management and delivery of individual investment projects, within the allocations agreed under the National Development Plan 2021-30 (NDP), rests with the individual sponsoring Department in each case. Expenditure is therefore allocated and monitored on a Departmental basis and not a geographical basis.

The Government has committed €165 billion towards capital investment through the National Development Plan (NDP) 2021-30 published in 2021. Following the conclusion of more than 30 bilateral meetings which took place from January to March with my Ministerial colleagues, on 27 March I was pleased to announce that I had reached agreement on the distribution of an additional €2.25 billion of windfall corporate tax receipts which we are committing to shovel-ready capital projects out to 2026. This builds on the existing funding of €165 billion already available under the NDP and it will mean more schools, housing, transport and healthcare projects can be progressed and delivered for our people.

With my colleague Minister McGrath I was also delighted to publish on April 4, the Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund Bill 2024 which will seek to deal with the pro-cyclicality of capital spending. A €14 billion reserve will be established over the period 2024 to 2030 and this will provide support for the economy in times of exceptional need and help to maintain the record high levels of investment we currently see. This important initiative will serve to protect capital expenditure into future and ensure the continued delivery of important capital projects for the benefit of all our citizens.

In 2024, over €13 billion will be made available from the Exchequer for investment in public capital projects. This level of expenditure will be pivotal in consolidating the progress already made, supporting balanced regional development and, most importantly, delivering the necessary infrastructure to support our future climate change obligations as well as our social and economic requirements.

The Government will continue to detail the delivery of the NDP at regular intervals into the future to allow for full transparency on the implementation of Project Ireland 2040. This will be achieved through regular updates of the Project Ireland 2040 capital investment tracker and map as well as the publication of annual reports and regional reports highlighting Project Ireland 2040 achievements and giving a detailed overview of the public investments which have been made throughout the country, including in Cork city.

The latest capital investment tracker, published yesterday, provides a composite update on the progress of all major investments with an estimated cost of greater than €20 million. Accompanying the tracker, the myProjectIreland interactive map details projects across the country and provides details on specific projects by county, and contains smaller investments such as schools and social housing projects. Search facilities also allow citizens to view projects in their regional area, by city, by county or by eircode.

In addition, Regional Reports on the implementation of Project Ireland 2040 in the three Regional Assembly areas have been published for 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022. The reports set out the regional projects and programmes, which are being planned and delivered in the Southern Region, including in Cork city, as part of the public investment detailed in Project Ireland 2040. While the reports do not provide an exhaustive list of all public capital expenditure, they serve to highlight the diverse range of investments being made by the State under Project Ireland 2040 in the region. The 2023 Regional Reports are expected to be published in Q3.

The Project Ireland 2040 Regional Reports, capital investment tracker and myProjectIreland interactive map are all available on gov.ie/2040.