The Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan (NDP) Delivery and Reform, Paschal Donohoe TD, will, in the coming weeks, present a plan to Cabinet, the aim of which is to sharpen the Government’s focus on NDP project delivery as part of the Minister’s new departmental remit.
At the end of last year, on the formation of the Government, Minister Donohoe was charged with examining key policy levers and support structures that could be utilise to support speedier delivery of vital projects under the National Development Plan. This included looking at procurement and appraisal processes, and giving consideration to where gaps to delivery existed and how they could be best addressed.
The National Development Plan was first launched in 2018, with the revised Plan published in 2021 – our largest, greenest and most ambitious infrastructure plan to date. The Department of Public Expenditure and NDP Delivery and Reform is at the core of supporting that delivery and making those ambitions a reality.
Minister Donohoe said:
“Over the lifetime of this NDP out to 2030, we are investing €165 billion in new and upgraded infrastructure that will meet the needs of our growing population. Delivering the NDP will have a transformative impact on employment opportunities, economic development and regional growth to support our growing population.
“However, such significant investment does not come without delivery challenges, and the construction sector has faced significant challenge in the past 3 years with closures due to the Covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine causing significant inflation and supply chain shortages. That is why the Government has decided to sharpen the focus on delivery even further in 2023.
“My Department has been renamed to give an additional focus on the delivery of the NDP and to assist Departments in delivering on their much needed priority projects. To this end, I am looking at the key policy levers and supporting structures at my disposal that could support delivery of critical projects, as well as working with colleagues across Government to remove any potential barriers that are impacting on delivery.
“My Department will use its mandate to better support project delivery, with a particular focus on:
- Adapting/streamlining existing frameworks in support of project delivery;
- Enhancing its reporting to Government on the successes or challenges of project delivery using clear reports from departments and agencies on quarterly updates on major projects;
- Enhancing its focus on reviewing capacity constraints within key sectors.
“I am in the process of finalising an updated work plan for my Department to further support NDP delivery, and I will be sharing this plan with my Cabinet colleagues in the coming weeks. This plan will focus on how projects are developed, appraised and approved in a streamlined manner by the Government and Government Departments; the public procurement procedures required to comply with EU regulations; and addressing capacity and capability gaps across the public sector and work to bridge these gaps.”
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