Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 11 May 2023
131. Deputy Matt Shanahan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform if he will provide an update on the departmental capital tracker plan outlining any improvements that have increased visibility on funding timelines and project completions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11589/23]
View answerAs Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform, I have responsibility for setting the overall capital allocations across Departments. Management and delivery of individual investment projects within the allocations agreed under the NDP is a key responsibility of every Department and Minister.
In 2023, over €12 billion will be made available from the Exchequer for investment in public capital projects, which will provide more schools, homes, hospitals and other pieces of vital infrastructure. This level of expenditure will be pivotal in consolidating the progress already made, and, most importantly, delivering the necessary infrastructure to support our future climate change obligations as well as our social and economic requirements. However, no-one is in any doubt that the need to ensure timely project delivery must be part of the Government’s focus to respond effectively to the pressing challenges of our time, particularly in areas like housing, health and climate.
The Government is committed to detailing progress on the delivery of the NDP at regular intervals into the future to allow for full transparency of the implementation of Project Ireland 2040. This is achieved 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.
The capital tracker and interactive map are key tools in overseeing the progress of Project Ireland 2040. Their purpose is to facilitate communication, monitoring and planning of investments, to inform citizens of the variety of projects currently in the planning and construction phase in their local regions and throughout the country. They provide an aid to industry by communicating opportunities for investment by giving a greater overview to the construction and infrastructure sectors of the Government's investment commitments and future opportunities for these sectors.
The latest editions of the Project Ireland 2040 capital investment tracker and interactive map, were published on the gov.ie/2040 website in February. The tracker includes comprehensive details on almost 320 large scale projects and 140 individual programmes, while the interactive map database includes an exhaustive overview of 1,240 individual projects.
The tracker and map databases contain project updates detailing a considerable amount of information, for example the tracker provides a brief outline of the project; the Department or Body responsible for delivering the project; the location and region of the project; the type of investment which links it to specific sectors; the alignment of the project with the National Planning Framework’s 10 National Strategic Outcomes; the current status of the project; the construction commencement date of the project; the completion or anticipated completion date of the project; the current stage of the project lifecycle as per the Public Spending Code and finally, there is also information on the project cost range.
