Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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136. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide details as to the measures he and his Department are undertaking to progress stalled large-scale public infrastructure projects; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15972/25]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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Total capital investment in 2025 will be almost €15 billion which is the highest annual spend to date in the State's history and four times the level of investment only 10 years ago. This continued investment is providing housing, school buildings and transport infrastructure all across the country, and it is building capacity for our future. While recognising the significant progress made, the Government is aware that more needs to be done to improve Ireland’s infrastructure and to meet the demands associated with population growth.

The Programme for Government acknowledges that delays to project delivery result in higher costs and hamper our ability to provide the necessary infrastructure to service a modern society and economy. It also represents a real risk to our competitiveness and to our attractiveness as a location for foreign direct investment. Achieving value for money in a timely manner, while reducing cost and schedule overruns is a vital part of delivering the NDP.

The Programme for Government commits my Department to reviewing the Infrastructure Guidelines and to create a Public Investment Act, requiring sponsoring agencies to meet timelines on development of project appraisals and other evaluations so as to reduce delays in decision making and embed value for money across all capital projects.

I intend to inform Government in the coming weeks of my specific plans for implementing the Programme for Government commitments on infrastructure delivery reform, focusing on delivery, accountability and value for money. Broadly speaking, this work will be initially focused on identifying the barriers to infrastructure development and seeking Government agreement on the actions to address these barriers.

As part of this work there will be extensive engagement. I intend to engage directly with key stakeholders to gather feedback on the practical issues being experienced in the development of infrastructure and this direct engagement will be complemented by public consultation to gather broader views. It is from this real world evidence that realistic options to address infrastructure delivery will be developed.