Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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Balanced regional development is a key priority of this Government and is at the heart of Project Ireland 2040. We are continuing to deliver and improve infrastructure in the Northern and Western region in areas such as transport, broadband connectivity, housing and energy. These investments in public infrastructure projects will in turn have a positive effect in delivering employment opportunities and further investment by the private sector. I should also point out that the Index referred to by the Deputy measures a much wider range of indicators than just infrastructure and on the basis of the complete Index the Northern and Western Region is actually ranked considerably higher. While the Index was published in May 2023, I would also point out that the road, rail and aviation elements of the Index are all based off data collected in 2018 and 2019 which predates this Government.

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. My Department therefore allocates expenditure on a departmental basis, not a geographic basis.

The Government has committed €165 billion funding for capital investment, as set out in the NDP published in October 2021. An additional €2.25 billion of windfall corporate tax receipts has also been allocated from 2024 to 2026, to provide funding for critical infrastructure projects that are at an advanced stage as well as to the existing Climate Action Fund.

In 2024, over €13 billion will be made available from the Exchequer for investment in public capital projects, which will provide more schools, homes, improve hospital facilities and other pieces of vital infrastructure. 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 is committed to increasing public awareness of the capital investment in Project Ireland 2040 in all regions. A Project Ireland 2040 report on each regional assembly area, including the Northern and Western region, is published each year. The 2022 annual reports were published in October 2023 and are available on gov.ie/2040. The reports detail the specific regional projects and programmes, which are being planned and delivered in each region as part of the public investment detailed in the NDP.

In addition, my Department publishes a major capital projects tracker and an interactive map, which sets out details of the key projects and programmes being implemented under the NDP, including those in the Northern and Western region. The latest editions of the tracker and map were published on 1 May 2024 and include major projects across all regions and are also available on gov.ie/2040.