Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 November 2021
254. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the extent to which he expects the various targets in Project Ireland 2040 to be achieved on time and within budget; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56144/21]
View answerThe NDP 2021-30 was published on 4th October, committing to an overall investment of €165 billion in the years from 2021 to 2030.
It is important to acknowledge that the majority of public investment projects are delivered on budget and on time and there is a high level of professionalism across the sectors. Reforms are ongoing in governance and broader capability to help ensure successful delivery.
The Projects and Programmes Tracker was also updated amongst other publications with the launch of the NDP; this provides detailed information about the progress made on the implementation of Government’s investment priorities in the coming years.
The Project Ireland 2040 Delivery Board, comprises Secretaries General of the major capital spending department and oversees the delivery of the NDP. The Delivery Board is being extended with up to 5 new members to bring additional expert knowledge, independent and regional perspectives, and an enhanced challenge function.
Departments, Agencies and Public Bodies are constantly seeking to ensure that they have the necessary resources in place in terms of staff, structures and skills to deliver on their commitments. There are a number of ongoing measures which seek to further develop the capacity of the public sector over the coming period and ensure the effective delivery of the NDP. These include:
- the establishment of a Commercial Skills Academy in the Office of Government Procurement;
- the establishment of the Public Infrastructure Network (the InfraNet) for those involved in capital project delivery;
- expansion of the Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service (IGEES);
- a range of reforms in the planning area including the establishment of a new Division of the High Court dealing with planning and environmental issues and
- the commissioning of the Supporting Excellence report through the EU Structural Reform Support Programme to review the capability of the public service to deliver the capital programme. On foot of one of the recommendations in that report, my Department convened an Action Team comprising of internal/external experts to tailor and set out a roadmap for implementation of the proposed solutions in more detail. The Supporting Excellence Action Team published their report alongside the National Development Plan 2021-30. The Action Team’s report includes 34 specific actions aimed at supporting excellence in boosting capability in individual sectors; from the centre, and improving co-ordination and guidance to support excellence on a system wide basis.
Detailed analysis by my Department, supported by a cross-sectoral working group, has concluded that two new elements are needed to strengthen the assurance process for major public investment projects to provide more structured scrutiny.
These two elements are:
- The introduction of an independent external review of projects over €100m at two major decision gates in the project life cycle and
- A Major Projects Advisory Group to support my Department in assimilating the outputs from the external reviews in quality assuring the strengthened process.
These reforms, alongside ongoing engagement with the construction sector regarding capacity and innovation, will help ensure the effective delivery of Project Ireland 2040 on time and on budget.
