Vol. 1038 No. 2
1. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform the reason the north west has been allocated less funding under the European Regional Development Fund, ERDF, programme despite the purpose of the fund being to address regional inequality and the north west, it being the only region in the State not classified as a more developed region; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22172/23]
I want to ask the Minister of State the reason the north west has been allocated less funding under the ERDF programme despite the purpose of the fund being to address regional inequality and the north west being the only region in the State not classified as a more developed region. The European Regional Development Fund is specifically intended to address regional imbalances between and within countries.
I thank Deputy Conway-Walsh. I apologise for the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, who is overseas. The total resources available at Union level for the ERDF were determined as part of the overall negotiations of the multi-annual financial framework for the period from 2021 to 2027. The resources allocated to each member state were based on the amounts calculated for each of the individual regions by the Commission using averaged Eurostat data from the relevant reference years, in this case 2015 to 2017. A methodology for allocation among different categories of regions and the criteria for determining these categories were agreed among member states. While the weightings and amounts used in the calculations vary according to the category of region, the allocations for transition regions and more developed regions are established by taking account of population, relative GDP per capita, level of unemployment, level of youth unemployment, level of education attainment, level of greenhouse gas emissions, level of net migration from outside the European Union and, in the case of more developed regions, population density.
It was on the basis of this agreed methodology that Ireland was allocated €396 million in ERDF funding. From this allocation, the northern and western region, Ireland's only region in transition, was allocated €110 million and the southern and the eastern and midland regions, deemed more developed regions, were allocated €285 million. These allocations reflected the above variables for the regions.
Subsequently, in recognition of the region in transition status of the northern and western region, it was decided to transfer €20 million in ERDF resources from the two more developed regions to the northern and western region. The Department, in conjunction with the regional assemblies, then engaged with the Commission on this matter and secured its agreement on this use of ERDF funds. This increased the allocation in the northern and western region to more than €130 million. This meant that the allocation per capita, including matching Exchequer funding, in the northern and western region was approximately €320 as opposed to approximately €160 per capita in the south and east. The regions differ significantly with regard to population. The southern and eastern regions have a far greater population.
The northern and western region is also able to avail of other supports. The new EU co-funded PEACEPLUS programme for 2021 to 2027 will invest in excess of €1.1 billion in projects to build peace and prosperity in Northern Ireland and the Border counties of Ireland.
Ireland was allocated €396 million in the EU funding for the ERDF programme. When the national co-financing is included, it allows spending and investment of more than €850 million across the State. The northern and western region is classified as disadvantaged compared with the southern region or the eastern and midlands region. The north west is the only region of the State not to be classified as more developed. This reflects the regional inequality in the State. The fund is supposed to address those inequalities. I hear what the Minister of State is saying, but the benefit of the lower classification is that the EU provides a larger share of funding. That is 60% of funding for any of those projects. Instead of the Government seeing this as an opportunity, it appears that the northern and western region has received less than half of the Exchequer funding allocated to the two other regions. The problem is that it is being driven by population, which really is not going to address what we need to address.
I thank the Deputy. As I said at the outset, the metrics are set out by parameters from places other than the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform.
I will finish where I was with regard to PEACEPLUS. The northern and western region is also able to avail of other supports. The new EU co-financed PEACEPLUS programme for 2021 to 2027 will invest in excess of €1.1 billion to build peace and prosperity in the counties that I mentioned. The Border counties in the north west have benefited greatly from predecessor programmes, and the Minister would like to encourage organisations in the area to engage with PEACEPLUS. The first calls for applications will open this summer. PEACEPLUS will provide funding for both larger strategic projects and smaller projects catering to community and other groups. In addition, the national development plan has supported and continues to support a range of projects in the north west, including enabling and main works on Sligo acute mental health services, the interim emergency department to facilitate service continuity, University Hospital Galway, the completed construction of 14 residential care homes, and a range of other projects across the region.
I thank the Minister of State. I welcome the PEACEPLUS programme and look forward to it opening so it can be availed of. The west and north west of Ireland has been downgraded to a lagging region by the European Commission after becoming significantly poorer relative to the European average.
The region's GDP per head of population has fallen from 82% of the EU average between 2015 and 2017 to an estimated 71%. The region, which covers Mayo, Galway, Roscommon, Leitrim, Sligo, Donegal, Monaghan and Mayo, was downgraded from being a more developed region to being a transition region and a lagging region, making it the only part of Ireland to receive this classification. The European Commission warned that regional disparities in Ireland were among the highest in the EU. It warned that, if left unchecked, the trend of growing inequalities between regions would have a damaging impact on the economic and social well-being of all the regions of Ireland. Sadly, this is not something that those of us living in the west do not already know. We have had these multiple warnings and I think we need to examine further how we will address this gap.
On top of the metrics I have already outlined, their rationale and the fact that there is a per capita double payment in the region versus the other two regions, the region also received significant funding from other Departments, including that specifically set up to deal with this issue, which is the Department of Rural and Community Development. Some examples of recent allocations in the region include €4 million for Killybegs town centre, €2 million for Ballinamore and €1.8 million for regeneration in Manorhamilton in Leitrim, and €10 million approved in total in 2022 for projects in Mayo, including Ballinrobe community arts and amenity centre and for regeneration in Newport among others. As Deputy Conway-Walsh knows, the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform and the Department with responsibility for the Gaeltacht and Údarás na Gaeltachta are making significant investment in counties Donegal, Mayo and Galway. In Sligo, €1 million was approved for the Strandhill national surf centre. On top of the funding coming from the European Commission, a significant amount of money is also going into the region from the Exchequer.
3. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform the steps he is taking to expedite flood relief schemes to protect residents, businesses and local communities at risk; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22173/23]
What steps is the Minister State taking to expedite the flood relief schemes to protect residents, businesses and local communities at risk? The people of Crossmolina in particular and in Ballina are still waiting. The people in Crossmolina are waiting for the River Deel flood relief scheme. When will the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, sign off on this scheme? I believe it is on his desk and ready to be signed off.
This is in my area of responsibility and I am glad to be able to answer it. The Office of Public Works, OPW, as the lead agency for flood risk management, is co-ordinating the delivery of measures towards meeting the Government’s national flood risk policy across three areas of flood risk management, which takes the potential impacts of climate change into account under the headings of prevention, protection and preparedness. A range of structural and non-structural measures have already been implemented to address flood risk, including emergency response, flood forecasting and warning, and planning guidelines.
Since 1995, significant progress has been made by the OPW on these defences. To date, 53 schemes have been completed, which are providing protection to more than 12,000 properties and an economic benefit of almost €1.9 billion. The OPW is responsible for leading and co-ordinating the implementation of localised flood relief schemes to protect Ireland against significant flood risk from rivers, the sea and climate adaptation. The Government has committed €1.3 billion to 2030 to cover 150 schemes.
Since 2018, a partnership between the OPW and local authorities has allowed Ireland to treble to 90 the number of flood relief schemes at design, development and construction stages. There are seven flood relief schemes at construction stage, including Cois Abhainn in Westport, in County Mayo. Once completed, they will provide flood protection to approximately 1,700 properties. Six more schemes are due to start construction this year, including Crossmolina. Like all schemes, designing a technical solution, ensuring a robust approach to the environmental assessments and meeting other regulatory requirements is essential to inform the best scheme and to reduce the risk of challenges to a proposed scheme.
Through this increase today the Government has completed or has work under way to manage 80% of Ireland's flood risk. Designing and constructing schemes for today's risk also includes making sure they are adaptable to manage the future additional flood risk from climate change. The OPW and local authorities are working in a very challenging environment to deliver and expand a programme of relief schemes due to resource constraints in a highly specialised and professional market. I announced in Letterkenny last week that my office is trialling a new delivery model for flood relief schemes that will inform the most efficient approach to delivering the next tranche. This is being led by Donegal County Council, Kilkenny County Council and the Department.
I thank the Minister of State. I welcome the fact that he spoke about projects in Westport, Ballina and Crossmolina going ahead. I want to ask about Crossmolina in particular. The people there have been told that money has been ring-fenced for the work to go ahead. This week I was informed by the Minister that all work on environmental assessments and review is due to be completed in the coming weeks. If the Minister then makes an order confirming the scheme, how long until we see the work commencing? Is the project there completely budgeted for? Are the resources in place? Until these issues are addressed, there can be no other development in the town. There are 116 properties under direct threat from flooding. Ballina is also in need of flood relief, with 175 homes and small businesses identified as being under threat. Properties located on Bachelors Walk, Arbuckle Row and Clare Street suffered extensive flooding and damage a number of years ago and they are still under threat. Stage 1 commenced in March 2020, but this covers only scheme development and preliminary design. Will the Minister of State provide an update on when this project will commence?
I thank Deputy Conway-Walsh. I have been in Crossmolina on a couple of occasions. I thank Deputy Conway-Walsh for the support associated with this. She is conscious of the fact that Mayo County Council is the applicant to the planning authority and, under the Arterial Drainage Act, the Minister is the consenting authority. We cannot predetermine the outcome of a planning process which must go through its natural conclusion.
With regard to where it is at present, in September 2020, the OPW submitted confirmation documentation for the scheme. Following two rounds of public consultation, the Department engaged independent environmental consultants to review the submissions received to carry out the necessary environmental assessments as required under Directive 2011/92/EU and Directive 2014/52/EU. Following completion of this work, a decision will be made by Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform on whether to confirm the Crossmolina flood relief scheme. If confirmation for the scheme is granted, the scheme can progress quickly to construction through the OPW's own direct workforce. I hope this can happen as soon as possible.
I thank the Minister of State and I welcome this. I want to ask about Ballina and Westport. I know the Minister of State will agree that projects take a very long time. Is there some way they can be streamlined? I know everything has to go through environmental impact assessments but people's lives are being left on hold while all of these things are happening. There cannot be development in the town. There is a real opportunity cost here in terms of developments not being able to go ahead, businesses not being able to expand and people waiting all the time for the next flood when their properties will be damaged and worse. It is holding back growth in small towns such as Ballina, Westport and Crossmolina until we get the projects done. We really must look after this core infrastructure. Otherwise the other development cannot happen.
I do not disagree with Deputy Conway-Walsh. If we had a magic bullet to circumvent the regulations we must go through, we certainly would be using it. Many towns, villages and cities such as Galway are under constant threat. When people are living under a psychological threat such as this, it causes a lot of mental trauma. It is not for want of energy and enthusiasm from our point of view. If we go baldheaded into a process whereby we may not get planning permission and we end up in the High Court with a judicial review, I would be questioned as to why we did not follow an exhaustive process to make sure all of the environmental regulations in particular were attached.
I have been to Crossmolina and Ballina. I have seen at first hand the need for these schemes. By the same token, the scheme in Westport, which is under construction at present, will considerably improve the situation for the people living there. We want to do more. It is not a resource issue or a money issue but rather a procedural issue. I wish it were faster but at present it is not.
2. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform if he plans to exceed the 5% expenditure rule in the context of budget 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22365/23]
I apologise for arriving late. I want to ask whether the Minister of State, his colleague, the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, and the Minister for Finance, Deputy McGrath, intend to exceed their self-imposed 5% expenditure rule in budget 2024.
As I said to Deputy Conway-Walsh earlier, the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, is out of the country and I will take all the questions. A 5% growth rate for core expenditure was set out in the 2021 summer economic statement as part of our medium-term expenditure strategy. This strategy aims to align core voted expenditure growth with the trend growth rate of the economy as measured by GNI*. This seeks to ensure a level of public spending that is sustainable, allowing us to provide consistent investment in delivering public services and infrastructure.
The significant increases in investment of recent years are delivering valuable infrastructure across sectors, including housing, transport, education, climate action and others. This improves the quality of life in Ireland and invests in the future.
Expenditure for non-core, temporary measures to address the impact challenges, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, Brexit, cost-of-living measures and Ukraine-related spending, are dealt with separately from expenditure on the delivery of core programmes and infrastructure. This careful and planned management of the economy and public finances has allowed the Government to provide increased resources for core public services, investing in quality of life in Ireland to support a strong, fair and equal society into the future and to deliver significant and essential infrastructural projects through the national development plan. These projects will support this country’s climate ambitions, employment prospects, economic development and regional growth and put in place considerable supports to provide assistance to our people and businesses.
In setting expenditure parameters, however, the Government is aware that our fiscal strategy also needs to adapt to the evolving nature of our economy. Accordingly, last summer, the Government took the decision to increase the growth rate of public expenditure above 5% for 2023 to take account of higher-than-anticipated inflation. This short-term adjustment balances the two criteria underpinning the overall fiscal strategy. On the one hand, it provides additional resources to continue a steady upward trajectory of investment to support citizens through income supports, access to services and building infrastructure capacity. On the other hand, the upward adjustment is below the headline inflation rate to limit the risk of expenditure policy feeding into an inflationary spiral. In tandem with the non-core temporary expenditure response, this adjustment provides a balanced response to the challenging economic environment.
The stability programme update was published last month. This set out voted expenditure projections out to 2026, on a technical, no-policy-change basis. On this basis, the voted expenditure ceilings reflect the 5% growth rate anchor for core spending that has been set out under the medium-term strategy.
We know why the self-imposed general expenditure rule was imposed last year, that is, to take account of the high inflationary environment. The reality is that, for much of this year, inflation will be above that 5% target in terms of the Government's self-imposed expenditure rule. The Minister of State will appreciate the context of the macroeconomic success that this country is experiencing, the corporation tax surplus and, indeed, the strong performance of other tax heads. Given we have had a decade of lost investment in this country and given the context of a need for investment in public services that are playing catch-up, and in a situation where we have 12,000 people homeless and we arguably require 5,000 additional hospital beds to cater for a growing and ageing population over the next decade, the idea that we would ourselves limit expenditure is farcical, frankly, and does not take account of the needs of society. I am assuming, from what I have heard from the Minister of State this morning, that the Government is preparing in the context of budget 2024 to relax that expenditure rule again, at least for this year and next.
In the context of the provision of the budgetary climate and infrastructure for 2024, the Deputy will be aware that the summer economic statement will shortly be addressed by the Ministers, Deputies Donohoe and McGrath, and that will take place in July, most likely. Over the coming months, in advance of that, the Minister will further consider other budgetary positions, in collaboration with the Minister for Finance. It should be pointed out that, notwithstanding all of the issues the Deputy has raised and in the context of the difficulties that individuals, families and communities were faced with, a number of once-off measures were taken by the Government in the 2023 budget. These include a totality of resources invested over the period of 2022 and 2023 to a significant scale, including the latest package of social protection and education measures of approximately €12 billion and a cost-of-living package of measures that have been provided for 2022 and 2023 for households and businesses. The spring-summer package announced on 21 February this year will provide €1.3 billion of additional supports for businesses and others for their energy costs and help those on fixed incomes, like pensioners, social welfare recipients, carers and people with disabilities.
One particular point that the Minister of State made, and that he and his colleagues will consistently remind us of, is the once-off measures that were introduced to help families and businesses deal with the cost-of-living crisis, but the active point there is “once-off”. We know that our social welfare system is not indexed to either wage rises or increases in the cost of living. We know that, for example, social welfare payments this year fell well short of the prevailing rate of inflation and we have seen families across this country have real cuts to their living standards. In fact, the OECD has confirmed what we already know, which is that for the first time since 2013, families across this country are experiencing very severe cuts and reductions in living standards in a country that is arguably and objectively extremely rich.
The final point I would make is in regard to how the Government needs to approach the next budget and its perspective on the relaxation or otherwise of the 5% self-imposed expenditure rule. We know that interest rates are high at the moment. That will impact private investment, and when private investment in the economy experiences some kind of downturn, it is then up to the public sector and the Government to invest. That is another reason the 5% expenditure rule needs to be relaxed again this year.
It is important to point out also that the total amount of Government expenditure for the year is in excess of €91 billion, a not insignificant amount of money. Notwithstanding the difficulties that are there, I think everybody accepts from history, particularly in this country, that when governments try to chase inflation, it winds up in an inflationary spiral and everybody suffers. That is why it is so important that the once-off measures that have been taken are taken in the context of the overall budget package and will also be reassessed in the context of the summer economic statement, where the parameters for budget 2024 will be outlined. That will provide all parties in the House with an opportunity to lay out their priorities for the budget but also to make sure we do not wind up in an inflationary spiral. If we attempt to try to chase it, we know from the history of this country where that will land us, and I do not think anybody particularly wants that.
4. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform the engagements he has had with the Department of Health and the HSE in relation to funding proposals for the new HSE home support tender 2023; if additional funding has been requested from his Department to implement the recommendations of the Report of the Strategic Workforce Advisory Group on Home Carers and Nursing Home Health Care Assistants; if additional funding will be provided to the Department of Health to implement a new home care tender ahead of the current arrangement ending in June 2023, following another extension of the existing tender; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22301/23]
The issue I raise concerns home care and staffing in nursing homes. We can only describe this as a crisis that exists in particular in regard to home care, where there are very long waiting lists and it is largely due to very poor terms and conditions for staff working in this important area. The funding of the package to improve conditions seems to be lying with the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform. There is a delay in making the necessary funding available and I want to know what the Department's intentions are in that regard.
I thank the Deputy, on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, for raising this very important issue. The Government is committed to promoting care in the community for older people so they can continue to live in their own homes for as long as possible. Home support is an increasingly important part of the supports the Government offers to older people and will continue to increase in importance into the future, as our ageing population grows. The overall policy intention and provision of services are in line with Sláintecare. The home support service is funded by the Government to deliver a volume of service each year as approved in the HSE national service plan, which is subject to the annual Estimates process.
As is the case for all Government Departments, the 2023 Estimates process involved detailed engagement between the Department and the Department of Health on the overall funding provided to the health sector. As part of budget 2023, the Department of Health made an allocation for the provision of home care support from within the available additional funding to meet the cost pressures being experienced within that area. Beyond this budget 2023 engagement, the Department has had no further engagement with the Department of Health on funding for the new HSE home support tender for 2023. As with other areas of health policy, the Minister for Health has policy responsibility, in the first instance, for the provision of home care support. Within this context, the HSE is responsible for developing the private home care provider tender with engagement from the Department of Health. Therefore, any further queries about the home care service or the status of the tender process should be directed to the Minister for Health in the first instance.
While the Minister for Health has policy responsibility for this area, the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform understands that the 2018 tender framework for the provision of home care support services was initially valid for a period of just over two years from September 2018 to 31 December 2020. Since 2020, the HSE has extended the framework a number of times, with corresponding rate increases. The most recent extension of the framework was at the end of 2022, initially to the end of April 2023. This extension increased the rate by 2.5% on tier 1 rates and by 3% on tier 2 rates. The HSE has proposed a further extension of the contract arrangements to Friday, 30 June, to allow time to finalise tender arrangements. No final decisions on the tender content have been reached.
I do not think the Minister of State can absolve the Department of all responsibility in this regard. There is a funding requirement involved in this. While I am not sure if the Minister of State is aware of it, at the moment there are 6,500 older people on waiting lists for home care. They have been approved for it, and it is difficult enough to get approval for it, but they are on a waiting list because there are no carers available. Equally, there are many people in hospital who are ready to be discharged but they are waiting for home care and the staff are not available.
This is largely due to poor terms and conditions within that sector. The model the Government is pursuing is not the model I would favour. It is largely and increasingly privatised in respect of both home care and nursing home care. That is a mistake, but we have that system now. That is the model the Government is working to, and it needs to be funded properly. The funding requirement is set out very clearly in the strategic workforce plan that has been drawn up. Several Ministers, including the Taoiseach, have committed to funding it, so when is the funding going to be made available by the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform?
As the Deputy is aware, it is not appropriate for a Minister, in the context of existing commercial discussions, tendering processes or anything of that nature, to discuss them on the floor of the Dáil. As I said earlier, the HSE has proposed a further extension of the contract arrangements to Friday, 30 June, which is its prerogative as the lead agency on this.
As I said at the outset, I am not trying to absolve myself or the Department of anything. It is simply a fact that when voted expenditure goes from this House to line Departments, it is for the Minister with responsibility for that area to set out, through the Department's policy framework, how he or she proposes to spend it.
It is worth pointing out that home care support spending has risen by 58%, from €443 million in 2019 to €700 million in 2023. These are not insignificant amounts of money, notwithstanding the level of demand that exists. Further discussions involving the HSE and the Department of Health, in terms of the completion of the tendering process, will naturally form part of the budget 2024 process, which will commence, as I said earlier, after the summer economic statement is published.
I reiterate that there is a real crisis in relation to getting sufficient staff to provide what is a critical social care service. Those difficulties were recognised in the strategic workforce plan. There were 16 recommendations made, principally on pay and conditions. The plan recommended a living wage and paying people for their travel time, which, incredibly, is not in place at the moment. The recommendation is for a payment of €34.44 per hour, and the cost of implementing that would be approximately €90 million. What is being suggested is that the Department of Health has only €50 million and that there is a shortfall. These are validated figures. Grant Thornton went in and looked at the books of several providers. There is no question but that the figure of €34.44 is a valid one but what has been offered is €28. That goes nowhere near meeting demand. The Taoiseach said in March it was his intention to implement all of those recommendations and what is missing now is the funding from the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform. The Department needs to step up.
As already stated, as a former Minister of State in the Department of Health, the Deputy will appreciate that it would not be appropriate for the Minister of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform or a Minister of State in his Department, in the middle of contractual discussions relating to the continuation or extension of contracts, the hiring of additional personnel or whatever is required for the service, to volunteer an opinion on behalf of the Department that ultimately holds the purse strings. My Department is not the one with the policy role and it does not lead the implementation of policy in this area.
I totally understand the concerns expressed by Deputy Shortall, as does every Member of the House, with regard to how the lack of home care is affecting people in our constituencies. Some of us actually feel this more personally than others. However, it is a matter for the Minister for Health, in conjunction with the HSE, to outline how they propose to spend the allocated moneys that are voted from the Dáil, why they might require a Supplementary Estimate and so on. There is a process for that and there is also a process in the context of the Estimates. I hope that once a conclusion is reached with regard to contractual arrangements on 30 June, this will form part of the discussions for 2024.
5. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform if he will outline the planned reform to the public spending code, outlining how said reforms will achieve greater speed and efficiency; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22175/23]
I ask the Minister of State to outline the planned reforms to the public spending code and explain how these reforms will achieve greater speed and efficiency. In November 2021, the then Department of Public Expenditure and Reform introduced an external assurance process, EAP, for major public capital projects. There is a mandatory requirement for funding Departments to participate in the EAP for Exchequer-funded projects with an estimated capital cost of more than €100 million, which has now been increased to €200 million. Can the Minister of State tell us where the efficiencies will be?
I thank the Deputy for her question. The Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform and the Department are responsible for the public spending code, which sets the value-for-money requirements and guidance for evaluating, planning and managing Exchequer-funded capital projects. In March this year, the Minister informed the Government of a package of significant actions aimed at enhancing project delivery under the national development plan, NDP. The 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.
Some specific changes designed to streamline the project life cycle and approval process include an increase in the general threshold for major projects from €100 million to €200 million, allowing for projects below this limit to progress more speedily through the appraisal and evaluation process; a reduction in the number of approval stages prior to implementation from five to three, reducing the administrative burden on Departments charged with developing and delivering projects; and the removal of the requirement for a project to prepare a separate strategic assessment report, SAR, at the start of the process. Instead, all the requirements previously required as part of a SAR must now be completed and incorporated as part of the preliminary business case at the first approval stage.
These changes have already been implemented through Government circular 06/2023. Further appraisal guidance, known as the infrastructure guidelines, will be published shortly as part of the capital project development that will replace the existing public spending code.
As the Minister of State knows, the new process consists of independent expert reviews. These reviews have replaced the technical reviews previously conducted by the Department for business cases. Independent reviewers seems to mean consulting firms, and for large EAP contracts this seems to mean the large, generalist consultancy firms. What I am concerned about is that these consultancy firms would actually be driving Government policy. Does the move towards an EAP represent an outsourcing of a process previously conducted by the Department? What is the justification for this outsourcing? It is claimed that this is based on the report by the International Monetary Fund, IMF, but I could not see any clear recommendations in that report to outsource this work. In fact, the report recommends a stronger role for the Department in approving non-major projects. I ask the Minister of State to explain that.
To go back to the earlier question posed by the Deputy about my responsibilities, for the Office of Public Works, OPW, which is a capital-led body, the changes to the public spending code that have been announced could not come fast enough. I am sure that if I asked the school buildings unit in the Department of Education or other bodies, they would agree, purely on the basis of the time that it was taking to go through each of the steps that had to be adhered to under the code in order to deliver capital projects.
In tandem with changing the spending code itself, there has also been a major change to the NDP delivery board. The Minister is now chairing that board, and while not all Secretaries General will be members of the board at all times, they will come in and go out as needed. The board also has external resources from people outside in the real world, that is, the world outside of politics. They will cast an eye over things as well, in the context of the enhanced importance of the delivery board. From a holistic point of view, the changes to the spending code and to the NDP delivery board will improve the situation.
I would appreciate it if the Department would provide a note indicating exactly where the IMF made the recommendations for the change. It remains unclear if these reforms will make any substantial difference to the speed of project delivery, and this is what concerns me. The then Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Michael McGrath, stated in January 2022 that the timelines associated with public spending code compliance "are a fraction of the time required for compliance with the range of statutory requirements". Suddenly, one year later, this is being presented as a solution to the Government's failure to delivery an array of capital projects. Will the recently announced reforms to the public spending code substantially increase the speed of delivery and reliability of capital projects? Has the Department done any research to demonstrate this? I cannot join the dots here in terms of how things are going to be streamlined and speeded up.
That is no problem at all. I will get the information the Deputy requires. On the reforms that are necessary to make things happen faster, another element is the planning Bill that is proposed to come before the Dáil. Again, going back to the previous question the Deputy asked, if I sat down with any delivery body or project management team in any part of the Government, whether it is Transport Infrastructure Ireland, the Rail Procurement Agency or whomever, they will all attest to the issues relating to planning. Taken in the round, it is not the question of money, ironically, because the thresholds have been raised. We will be requiring our Accounting Officers to do far more than they have been doing heretofore. We will also be requiring the Committee of Public Accounts and the Committee on Budgetary Oversight of the Oireachtas to do more in making sure we do not get back into a situation where value for money all of a sudden slips down the pecking order and it is all about delivery. It cannot be about that either. We will have to pull together on this to make sure there is proper oversight and governance and that, when it comes to the reform that is needed of the planning Acts in particular, we get an Act fit for purpose to make sure that all this stuff can be delivered.
