Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 1 June 2017
18. Deputy Peter Burke asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform when the review of the capital plan will occur; and if key preliminary projects will be prioritised such as the extension of the N4 from Mullingar to Rooskey and the provision of a motorway serving County Longford and the north west. [26100/17]
Amharc ar fhreagra39. Deputy James Lawless asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the levels of capital expenditure which will be allocated for infrastructure projects for Kildare North; the timeframe for these allocations; the projects for which funding will be provided; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26227/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 18 and 39 together.
The Mid-Term Review of the Capital Plan is still currently ongoing. This process will result in capital allocations being made by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to other Government Departments, rather than allocations being made by my Department to specific projects or geographic areas. Any decisions on the capital allocations will not be made until after that process is complete.
The Deputies will appreciate that it is a matter for each Department, in the first instance, to identify its sectoral priorities and projects in their submission for any additional funding under the review.
Submissions in relation to the review and the additional funding available for allocation were sought from Departments in January and are currently under review by my Department.
Assessments and recommendations made by each Department will play an important role in ensuring that the additional funding is aligned with priorities in terms, for example, of overall economic and social returns from increased public capital investment.
A public consultation process was also held in April to ascertain the views of the public and key stakeholders on what our national infrastructure priorities should be. This consultation also sought views on infrastructure investment priorities beyond the period of the current Capital Plan, which will help formulate a longer term Capital Plan for the next 10 years.
My Department's assessment of the submissions received as part of the Capital Review will be based on, for example, an Infrastructure Capacity and Demand Analysis carried out by the Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service.
My Department is also liaising closely with the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government in order to ensure close alignment with the new National Planning Framework due to be published later this year.
This work being carried out by my Department will ensure that the additional capital resources available are targeted on priority public capital infrastructure required to support Ireland's medium-term growth potential and underpin social cohesion.
It is expected that the review process will be completed in Quarter 3 of 2017, to enable the Government to make final decisions in due course on how the remaining additional capital funding should be allocated.
