Catherine Ardagh (Dublin South Central, Fianna Fail)
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21. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform for an overview of the progress made to date under National Strategic Outcome 5 of the National Development Plan 2021-2030; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39719/25]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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As Minister for Public Expenditure Infrastructure Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, 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 NDP contains expenditure commitments for a range of strategic investment priorities which will contribute towards the achievement of these National Strategic Outcomes (NSOs), including NSO 5 which relates to a Strong Economy supported by Enterprise, Innovation and Skills.

NSO 5 aims to maintain and enhance Ireland's status as a competitive, innovative and resilient enterprise base providing high-quality jobs and employment opportunities for people to live and prosper in all regions. Over 13,500 new jobs are expected to be created from the 234 investments in IDA supported client companies in 2024. The numbers directly employed in the multinational sector in Ireland were 302,566 in 2024. The existing base of FDI has shown continued resilience and more than half (64%) of investments went to regional locations.

Employment in client companies of Enterprise Ireland increased to a total of 234,454 in 2024, the highest ever recorded. The total number of jobs created was 15,741. 68% of new jobs created in 2024 in companies supported by Enterprise Ireland were located outside the Dublin region.

In the Higher Education sector, a number of programmes and projects continue to be advanced to deliver on ambitions for Ireland’s higher education sector as outlined in NSO 5. These projects will expand capacity in higher education institutions, will support a pipeline of talent and skills aligned with national and regional needs, and will also upgrade existing infrastructure to improve the campus environment– taking account of energy efficiency, as well as best practice in teaching and learning.

The Higher Education PPP Programme was originally announced under the Building on Recovery Capital Plan 2016–2021 and reaffirmed in the National Development Plan 2021–2030. The Programme comprises 11 new buildings across two bundles, addressing urgent infrastructure needs and projected increases in student enrolments

Bundle 1 (6 buildings) has been completed and handed over to institutions including Technological University Dublin, Technological University of the Shannon Athlone, Munster Technological University (Cork and Kerry), and Institute of Art Design and Technology Dún Laoghaire. These projects were delivered on time and on budget, with a construction cost of approximately €250 million (ex VAT)

Bundle 2 (5 buildings) contracts were signed on 26 June 2025, with construction commencing immediately. These projects are located at: South East Technological University (Waterford and Carlow), Atlantic Technological, University (Galway and Letterkenny) and Technological University of the Shannon (Limerick)Further details of projects and programmes being delivered under NSO 5 can be found in the latest capital investment tracker, which I published earlier this year 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.