Sinéad Gibney (Dublin Rathdown, Social Democrats)
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667. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform to detail the protections against undue prioritisation of capital projects in the public spending code; whether his Department has identified any potential weaknesses in those protections; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20557/25]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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My Department is responsible for the Infrastructure Guidelines, which replaced the Public Spending Code (PSC) as of end 2023 in setting the value for money requirements and guidance for evaluating, planning and managing Exchequer-funded capital projects. Management and delivery of investment projects and public services within allocation and the national frameworks is a key responsibility of every Department, Accounting Officer and Minister.

My Department has taken significant steps in recent years to strengthen our capital appraisal guidelines, previously in 2019 and most recently with the introduction of the Infrastructure Guidelines.

The 2019 update to the Public Spending Code, the introduction of the External Assurance Process (EAP) and the Major Projects Advisory Group (MPAG) and the most recent updates were informed by a number of different factors. These included recommendations arising from a number of different reports including the 2017 IMF report ‘, which undertook a comparative analysis of infrastructure investment management in Ireland compared to other leading international performers as well as the PWC Independent review of escalation in costs at the New Children’s Hospital, a consultation process involving key stakeholders, as well as international evidence.

Since these changes in 2019 to reflect these reports and international best practice, the Department have refreshed the requirements for capital projects in the new Infrastructure Guidelines to ease the administrative burden in delivery major capital projects and further reflecting the role of departmental Accounting Officers in infrastructure delivery, reducing the number of approval stages and streamlining the requirements for major projects, while retaining the international best practice governance and oversight arrangements already in place. This will ensure that vital infrastructure projects will be delivered on time and delivered in a manner that ensures value for money.

Some of the further key changes implemented through the updated Infrastructure Guidelines include:

• The number of approval stages prior to implementation for projects has been reduced from five to three, which includes Approval Gates by the Approving Authority at:
  1. Preliminary Business Case/Approval-in-Principle Stage
  2. Pre-Tender Stage
  3. Final Business Case Stage.
• The general threshold for major projects has increased from €100 million to €200 million.
• The External Review and Major Projects Advisory Group review remain a requirement for major projects (those greater than €200 million) at the Strategic Assessment and Preliminary Business Case Stage, prior to seeking Government consent following the approval of the Parent Department/Approving Authority.