Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 17 May 2018
27. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his plans on foot of the International Monetary Fund, IMF, public investment management assessment for Ireland to ensure improvements in the efficiency and value for money of public investment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21606/18]
View answerThe National Development Plan explicitly addresses the need to improve management of capital spend, including the challenges referenced such as maintenance of assets, drawing in particular on the 2017 PIMA report. These actions are in train; in particular, a Project Ireland 2040 Delivery Board has been formed, consisting of Secretaries General from the main capital spending Departments, to ensure effective leadership of the implementation process. The Delivery Board had its first meeting on 1 May last.
This will lead to a greater focus by Government on achieving value for taxpayers’ money when it comes to public capital investment in Ireland over the period of the plan.
In particular, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform will establish an Infrastructure Projects and Programmes Office to drive strengthened business case and project appraisal, and to act as the gatekeeper on the appraisal process.
A Construction Sector Working Group is being established to ensure regular and open dialogue between Government and the construction sector in relation to significant issues relating to the successful delivery of the NDP on a value-for-money basis for the Exchequer.
This reform agenda was already begun with the publication in September 2017 of a Major Capital Projects Tracker on the website of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. The purpose of the tracker is to inform citizens of the variety of projects currently in the planning and construction phase and to also give a greater overview to the construction and infrastructure sectors of the Government's investment commitments and future opportunities for these sectors. The tracker will provide the public, businesses and other stakeholders with reliable information about current and future infrastructure delivery.
The Tracker is currently being updated to reflect the further projects now included in the National Development Plan and it will, in time, be further developed to become the primary tool for public transparency on infrastructure project priorities, timelines and performance targets.
