Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 2 March 2017
3. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if the national planning framework and the mid-term capital review will be integrated in terms of approach, objectives and goals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10849/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Minister is currently conducting a mid-term capital review and the Minister, Deputy Coveney, when he is not causing trouble elsewhere, is conducting the national planning framework. He is engaged in a relatively wide regional consultation that is provoking all sorts of interesting proposals. Meanwhile, the Minister is pursuing the capital review. What plans are there to integrate the two? The capital review should presumably reflect the finality of the national planning framework in some shape or form in order for the national planning framework to be effective on this occasion, which is a hope we all share.
There is a very close alignment between the new national planning framework and the current review of the capital plan which will be strongly reflected in the Government's capital investment plans arising from the review and decision-making on spatial planning. Indeed, the Taoiseach, in his recent address to the Institute of European Affairs entitled, Ireland at the Heart of a Changing European Union, reaffirmed that the new national planning framework will be complemented with a long-term, ten year capital plan.
As the Deputy is aware, the review of the capital plan will be undertaken in two separate phases. The first phase will comprise a focused review of priorities aimed primarily at advising Government, in the context of Estimates for 2018, on how the additional funding of €5 billion committed by Government for capital investment will be allocated for the period to 2021. This will examine priority areas for investment, consistent with the objectives of the existing capital plan.
Separately, responding to the direction that the Taoiseach has articulated this area, the review will assess and report on the framework required to underpin a far longer term approach to capital investment and investment in infrastructure. This is intended to comprise a fundamental review of public capital infrastructure into the future, taking full account of the finalised national planning framework. It is understood that the first draft of this new approach should be available in April, in time to inform the outcome of the first phase of the review of the capital plan.
In making their submissions to my Department, Departments have been specifically asked to take into account the emerging position with regard to the draft new national planning framework and to seek to identify any crucial long-term needs that can be anticipated at this stage, in advance of the publication of the framework. It is envisaged that any suggested new spending contained within submissions will be assessed at programme level against a number of criteria, including specifically alignment with the emerging national planning framework.
I thank the Minister for his response. He spoke about the €5 billion additionally allocated from 2018 to 2021. How much of that is already allocated, for example, for housing? Will that particular allocation reflect the priorities in the 2016 to 2021 capital plan announced in 2015? It is already very outdated in some of its ambitions. For example, it has a broadband speed plan which is already slow compared to current technology.
Second, those areas will be excluded from the growth areas that will be identified as part of the planning framework. What future is there for those in terms of capital expenditure? Are we going to focus all our efforts on connecting the growth centres, excluding all other areas? Will we then allow a situation where we have such an imbalance of population and service and all of the pressure that comes with that not just in this city, but in Cork, Galway and some of the cities that have already been chosen? How are we going to ensure that imbalance does not happen? How are we going to ensure that we get some sort of permanent, sustainable development around the entire island as opposed to just in these growth centres?
In respect of the first of the Deputy's two questions, out of the €5 billion of additional resources, approximately €2.2 billion to €2.3 billion was allocated to the Minister, Deputy Coveney, for the public housing programme he announced before Christmas. Approximately €2.4 billion to €2.5 billion is currently unallocated and that will be dealt with in advance of 2021.
On the Deputy's second question, the process I have outlined will allow a review of existing commitments. If there is any situation in which existing commitments have been overtaken by the development of technologies, I am certain that will be dealt with in the review process I have outlined.
On the Deputy's third question, which was on growth areas, the whole purpose of having a national planning framework is to ensure that we have an effective allocation of investment across the entire country. We are talking about the allocation of additional funding. The reason we will be using the national planning framework is to make sure that it is not primarily growing areas such as Dublin that receive all the funding. The very reason this work is being done is to try to avoid the very imbalance the Deputy is raising with me.
I fear that we are just falling into this capital review and that we are ignoring potential sources of funding outside the traditional sources. The policy on public private partnerships is very conservative and not reflective of modern market trends. I am still at a loss to understand the Government's response to European Investment Bank, EIB, funds. I do not want to know that it has opened an office in Dublin. That is grand. It is very well for a bank to open but it needs people to come to it looking for money. We have heard consistently from the EIB that it has funds available at record low interest rates but it is not getting the projects. What is the Minister doing to try to promote projects and to promote EIB funding being used for the capital plan review? What will he do, in terms of the review of the capital plan, to encourage new forms of spending, including PPPs and other off-balance sheet measures?
President Juncker announced in September that he would be willing to discuss capital. We have discussed reviewing capital rules around expenditure. I know Deputy Eamon Ryan has raised the issue with the Select Committee on Budgetary Oversight. What is the Minister doing to try to take that opportunity?
Let us be clear about the scale of the investment of the EIB in Ireland. My understanding is that it has now made funding available to every university in our country and it has made funding available to develop projects like Luas cross-city and the Grangegorman campus of the Dublin Institute of Technology. It has put investment in place to support needed projects in our county.
It has put nothing into energy.
On the Deputy's question on the role of public private partnerships, I am very willing to engage in a discussion on the role of PPPs but let us be clear that a public private partnership builds up a liability that is then contingent on the State balance sheet. It is funding and a loan that at some point will need to be repaid. If the Deputy needs evidence of the challenge that can pose, he should look at the accumulated bill of payments that we already have in respect of PPPs that we have delivered. It is between €4 billion and €5 billion. These are repayments on PPPs that the State now has to deliver.
Part of the capital review I am undertaking includes the need to look again at the role of PPPs and, indeed, deal with Deputies' issues such as the one Deputy Ryan has raised. I am pleased to hear that Fianna Fáil has an open mind on this issue. I would hope, therefore, that this open mind would continue to support, for example, tolling to ensure that income streams are delivered to allow the PPP opportunities that Deputy Calleary has raised to be realised. I am well aware of the benefits and the challenges in respect of PPPs.
