Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 June 2023
51. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform the estimated cumulative value of the investments to be made in counties Kilkenny, Carlow, Wexford and Waterford, respectively, under the timeframe of the National Development Plan 2021-2030; the estimated funding drawdown to date in each county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30906/23]
View answerAs Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform I am responsible for setting the overall capital allocations across Departments and for monitoring monthly expenditure at Departmental level. Individual projects are selected based on a detailed process which begins with Departments or Agencies setting their own sectoral strategy and goals in line with the National Development Plan (NDP) and the National Planning Framework (NPF). The responsibility for the management and delivery of these investment projects, within the allocations agreed under the NDP, rests with the individual sponsoring Department. Expenditure is therefore allocated and monitored on a Departmental basis and not on a geographic basis.
The Government has committed €165 billion funding for capital investment, as set out in the NDP published in October 2021. The NDP includes indicative Exchequer allocations for each Department for a five year period (2021 to 2025) and the overall capital expenditure ceilings out to 2030. This expenditure was considered and agreed in order to support those sectors that would be key in delivering the ten National Strategic Outcomes identified in the National Planning Framework (NPF). The NDP contains expenditure commitments for a range of strategic investment priorities which have been determined by the relevant Departments as central to the delivery of the National Planning Framework vision.
In 2023, over €12 billion will be made available from the Exchequer for investment in public capital projects. This 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, supporting balanced regional development and, delivering the necessary infrastructure to support our future climate change obligations as well as our social and economic requirements.
The Government will continue to detail the delivery of the NDP at regular intervals into the future to allow for full transparency on the implementation of Project Ireland 2040. This will be achieved through regular updates of the Project Ireland 2040 capital investment tracker and map, 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 which have been made throughout the country.
The capital investment tracker provides a composite update on the progress of all major investments with an estimated cost of greater than €20 million. Accompanying the tracker, the myProjectIreland interactive map details projects across the country and provides details on specific projects by county, including counties Kilkenny, Carlow, Wexford and Waterford, and contains smaller investments such as schools and social housing projects. Search facilities also allow citizens to view projects in their regional area, by city, by county or by eircode.
In addition, Regional Reports on the implementation of Project Ireland 2040 in the three Regional Assembly areas have been published annually since 2018 with an update for 2022 scheduled to be published in the coming weeks. The reports set out the regional projects and programmes, which are being planned and delivered in the Southern Region, including in counties Kilkenny, Carlow, Wexford and Waterford, as part of the public investment detailed in Project Ireland 2040. While the reports do not provide an exhaustive list of all public capital expenditure, they serve to highlight the diverse range of investments being made by the State under Project Ireland 2040 in the region.
The Project Ireland 2040 Regional Reports, capital investment tracker and myProjectIreland interactive map are all available on gov.ie/2040.
