Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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58. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if measures will be introduced at an early date, including much-needed additional investment in infrastructure in areas such as Cavan and Monaghan to address regional economic imbalance as outlined in a report (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10081/25]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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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. Expenditure is therefore allocated on a Departmental basis and not on a geographical basis.

The Government committed €165 billion towards capital investment through the National Development Plan (NDP) 2021-30 published in 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. 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 across all regions.

In 2025, €15 billion is being 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 Programme for Government has emphasised the delivery of essential infrastructure as a key driver in attracting and retaining investment in Ireland, growing our economy, fostering regional development, delivering on our housing targets and achieving our ambitious climate goals.

A key commitment of the Programme for Government is to prioritise an early review of the National Development Plan, which will be completed in July 2025. The review is intended to include all proposed Exchequer capital investment priorities for the lifetime of this Government and will seek to allocate the full resources of the Apple Escrow Account, the proceeds of share sales and the distribution of the Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund prior to 2030.

The Government details the delivery of the NDP at regular intervals to inform the public on the implementation of Project Ireland 2040. This is achieved through regular updates of the Project Ireland 2040 capital investment tracker and map, which is currently being reviewed and updated and will be published in Q1 2025. In addition the publication of annual reports and regional reports highlighting Project Ireland 2040 achievements. These reports give a detailed overview of the public investments which have been made throughout the country, including in Cavan and Monaghan.

The capital investment tracker provides a composite update on the progress of all major investments with an estimated cost 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 details of investments in areas 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. It should be noted that projects and programmes listed on the capital tracker that span counties and Regional Assembly areas are recorded under a heading of “National”. Therefore, searching for projects by county or Regional Assembly area may not give a full picture of all the projects being developed in a particular region and the projects listed under the National heading should also be taken into account, for example the National Broadband Plan rollout. These reports give a detailed overview of the public investments which have been made throughout the country, including in Counties Cavan and Monaghan.

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