Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 September 2020
304. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the details of the past investment both public and private in building and construction in each of the years 2016 to 2019; the projected investment for 2020 to 2024; if he anticipates a drop in private sector investment; his plans to increase public sector investment to meet potential investment shortfall; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23755/20]
View answerWhile largely Exchequer funded, the Public Capital Programme draws on a number of different funding sources, including investment by the private sector in the form of Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) and also investment by commercial State bodies and other State sponsored bodies and agencies from their own resources.
The Deputy may be interested to know that expenditure details of the Public Capital Programme are published each year in both the Budget Expenditure Report and the Revised Estimates Volume. There is also a large amount of information published on the http://databank.per.gov.ie/ website and the https://ppp.gov.ie/ website.
While the Deputy’s question concerns building and construction, capital expenditure is varied and can include items such as the purchase of IT equipment and software for Government administration, the purchase of vehicles, grants to industry delivered through the enterprise agencies, investments in energy, broadband, forestry, marine, medical equipment and transportation. Expenditure on building and construction is not disaggregated from the overall capital expenditure allocations, however. with spending on particular construction projects a matter for individual Departments in the first instance.
After relatively low levels of capital investment following the financial crisis, capital allocations have increased steadily over the past number of years. The capital allocation of €8.9 billion for 2020, including additional Covd-19 related spend, is over twice that of the 2016 capital outturn of €4.2 billion. Furthermore, the 2021 capital allocation, as published in the multi-annual capital investment framework table in the 2020 Revised Estimates Volume, will be almost €9.2 billion. This will represent the highest ever investment in capital in the history of the State.
I will be commencing a review of the National Development Plan in the coming months which will align with the priorities identified in the Programme for Government, including climate change, housing policy, transport policy, implementation of Sláintecare and balanced regional development.
