Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 18 May 2023
228. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform if he will outline the two approval stages prior to implementation under the planned reforms to the public spending code; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23922/23]
View answerIn March this year, I informed Government of a package of significant actions aimed at enhancing project delivery for the NDP and announced that the Public Spending Code will be replaced by a set of Infrastructure Guidelines. This package represents a fresh approach to securing delivery as part of the Department's enhanced remit around the NDP.
The actions include significant changes to reduce the administrative burden for Departments and public bodies developing capital projects. One of these specific changes is the reduction of the number of approval stages prior to implementation from 5 to 3, reducing the administrative burden on Government departments charged with developing and delivering projects.
The three approval stages prior to implementation are:
Strategic Assessment & Preliminary Business Case - Decision Gate 1 approval by the Approving Authority is approval in principle for the proposal.
Pre-tender - Detailed Project Brief and Procurement Strategy - Decision Gate 2 approval by the Approving Authority is approval for the project to proceed to tender
Post-tender - Final Business Case - Decision Gate 3 approval by the Approving Authority is approval to award the main construction contract.
For major projects (those over €200 million), the relevant Approving Authority is required to seek Government consent at 2 stages, the Preliminary Business Case stage and the Final Business Case stage (stages 1 and 3 above).
A fundamental tenet of the approach is the incremental approvals process. To prevent lock-in, protect scarce resources and ensure maximum value for money, proposals should only be approved to advance to the next stage in the process. Proposals must continue to reflect value for money and Sponsoring Agencies, Approving Authorities and the Government must retain the right to abandon a proposal if it ceases to reflect the best use of resources in the pursuit of a policy goal.
