Erin McGreehan (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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640. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform to provide an update on the total funding allocated to County Louth under this Department from 2023 to date, per year in tabular form. [46347/25]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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As part of the budgetary process each year, my Department sets overall expenditure ceilings for each Ministerial Vote Group. These are laid out at Budget time in the Expenditure Report with further detail then provided in the Revised Estimates for Public Services.

Following allocation of each Ministerial Expenditure Ceiling, it is a matter for each Minister to assign funding as appropriate at programme and subhead level for their Departments and the agencies under their remit taking into account the demands for services in different areas and regions, having regard to demographics and other relevant factors. Within this process, both current and capital expenditure are allocated on a Departmental basis and not a geographic basis. I note that you have asked for a response from my Ministerial colleagues for their own sectors.

My own Department has very limited capital expenditure and the majority of funding is for the functioning of our existing offices and to support staff in those offices. This Department does not have any offices operational in County Louth, so there is unlikely to be any significant allocation of funding applied to County Louth from my own Departmental Vote in recent years.

More broadly, the achievement of balanced regional development is a key priority of this Government and is at the heart of Project Ireland 2040, which includes the National Planning Framework (NPF), which sets out the overarching spatial strategy for the next twenty years, along with the National Development Plan.

The NDP Review 2025 was published on Tuesday, 22 July 2025, in line with the Programme for Government commitment.

Over the coming months, individual Ministers will develop their sectoral plans, for priority investment programmes and projects within their additional capital allocations for delivery across the country. Considering sectoral needs and Ministerial decisions, these plans will reflect Government priorities, including the National Planning Framework commitment to balanced regional development.

Progress in achieving balanced regional development is monitored through regular updates of the Project Ireland 2040 capital investment tracker and MyProjectIreland interactive map viewer, as well as the publication of annual reports and regional reports highlighting Project Ireland 2040 achievements and giving a detailed overview of the public investments that have been made throughout the country.

Projects included under the NDP for delivery in County Louth include:

• Social Housing projects in Mount Avenue, Dundalk; Boice Court and Ballymakenny West, Drogheda; and Dunleer
• The completed works at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda (Phases 2-4)
• The Ardee bypass
• Carlingford, Drogheda and Baltray, and Dundalk Flood Relief Schemes
• The Louth 220 kV Electricity Station Refurbishment; and
• The completed Drogheda and Dundalk Water Supply Schemes