My Department is responsible for setting the overall multi-annual capital expenditure ceilings for each Ministerial Vote Group as set out in the National Development Plan and Project Ireland 2040. My Department is also responsible for maintaining the national frameworks within which Departments operate to ensure appropriate accounting for and value for money in public expenditure such as the Public Spending Code. The Public Spending Code sets the value for money requirements and guidance for evaluating, planning and managing capital projects. Management and delivery of investment projects and public services within allocation and the national frameworks is a key responsibility of every Department and Minister as indeed will be meeting the ambitious climate targets envisaged in the Programme for Government and Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill.
The role of public investment in delivering on Ireland’s climate targets is being assessed as part of the ongoing review of the National Development Plan. Climate was an important consideration in the development of the current National Development Plan and is also in the ongoing appraisal of projects and programmes. However, in recognition of the need for systemic change, there will be an overarching focus on climate action throughout the new National Development Plan. It is intended that Departments will be required to assess their spending proposals/allocations against a range of environmental outcomes to ensure that their investment priorities are aligned with Ireland’s climate and environmental objectives. To complement this sectoral assessment of the National Development Plan, my Department is proposing that the whole of the National Development Plan is assessed against a suitable climate/environmental methodology which is line with international good practices.
It is important to note that the National Development Plan is not a vehicle through which investment proposals are approved. All project and programme proposals included in the Plan are subject to the detailed rigour of the Public Spending Code. The Public Spending Code is not static. It is updated regularly to reflect lessons learned and international good practice. My Department has an ongoing body of work to strengthen the Public Spending Code requirements and guidance to support public bodies in their evaluation, planning and management of capital projects. This includes strengthening the consideration of environmental and climate factors in project appraisal, planning and delivery. In particular, I anticipate altering the shadow cost of carbon that applies to all projects once the higher targets envisaged in the draft Climate Action Bill are adopted. This will ensure that the amount of emissions a project may give rise to is quantified and a value placed on those emissions that reflects the cost that society will have to bear to eliminate these emissions in the future. This in turn allows the appraisal to determine if this future burden outweighs any benefits the project may bring.
