As Minister for public expenditure I am responsible for setting the overall capital allocations across Departments and for monitoring monthly expenditure at departmental level. Responsibility for the management and delivery of the wider investment and sectoral policies within the allocations agreed under the national development plan involves working with Ministers and other colleagues across Departments. Each Minister is responsible for deciding which programmes and projects will be delivered under the national development plan. The latter contains expenditure commitments for a range of strategic investment priorities which will contribute towards the achievement of national strategic outcomes, including NSO 5, which relates to a strong economy supported by enterprise, innovation and skills. This aims to maintain and enhance Ireland's status as a competitive, innovative and resilient enterprise base, providing high quality jobs and employment opportunities for people to live and prosper in all regions. Under the plan, €3.68 billion was allocated in respect of enterprise and skills, including €400 million of additional funding to Irish start-up enterprises. Over 15,300 new jobs were created from the 323 investments in IDA Ireland-supported client companies in 2005. The numbers directly employed in the multinational sector in Ireland in 2025 were 312,400. The existing base of FDI has shown continued resilience, and more than half the investments went into regional locations. Employment in client companies of Enterprise Ireland increased to a total of over 234,000 in 2025, which is the highest number ever reported. The total number of jobs created was over 12,600. Some 69% of new jobs created in 2025 in companies supported by Enterprise Ireland were located outside the Dublin region. In the higher education sector, €4.5 billion in capital funding was allocated to the Department of further and higher education as the number of projects and programmes continued to be advanced and deliver on the ambitions of Ireland's higher education sector. These projects will expand capacity in higher education institutions and support a pipeline of talents and skills aligned with national and regional needs.
Sentiment score: 0.39
I do not have a specific breakdown for the enterprise sector. All I say is that if we look at wider job creation, the prioritisation that has emerged on the part of both IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland and the facts that have emerged in 2025, we can see that there has been significant growth in job creation outside of Dublin. This reflects our broad strategy and shows the huge resilience in the Irish economy, notwithstanding global conflict and major geopolitical pressures. There is continued investment and positivity around Ireland's economic proposition for many companies that want to build their base in Ireland, many of them are SMEs but there are also FDI companies. I have been with the Deputy in Offaly. He knows the huge importance of regional connectivity from a roads' perspective, which the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, has restored in the context of the national development plan. There are also objectives around other capital investment projects for the midlands region, and that is a continued focus of Government. We want not only to match the capital investment which we have set aside but also to get things done and accelerate delivery across the board.
Sentiment score: 0.19
The critical foundation of employment growth, house construction and industrial development is what we have sought to prioritise in the national development plan in terms of building out our energy system - where there will be opportunities for the midlands - ensuring that transport connectivity is enhanced, which is reflected in the national development plan, and that water and wastewater infrastructure is also advanced. These are the key enablers of wider social and economic development in the context of the infrastructure deficit we have in our economy. I am confident that with what has been set aside in the national development plan, we will see increased house construction in the Deputy's part of the midlands and also upside benefits in terms of job creation by SMEs and FDI companies. When that infrastructure gap starts to close, it should yield further opportunities across the Deputy's region. I am confident that will occur.
Sentiment score: 0.42
In the 2021 review of the national development plan, the Government originally committed to €165 billion of investment out to 2030. Subsequently, in March 2024, it agreed to an additional €2.25 billion out to 2026. The revised development plan sets out over €275 billion of public capital investment out to 2035, the largest and most significant capital injection into the economy in the history of the State. Following the agreement in July 2025, gross capital expenditure ceilings have now been set out. While we have prioritised investment towards critical growth-enabling sectors of housing, energy, water and transport, all Departments have prepared sectoral plans for the five years out to 2030. They have set out detail around projects to be progressed. NSO 10, as the Deputy mentioned, refers to quality childcare, education and health services. The Government has allocated over €7.55 billion to education projects over the next number of years, with €795 million to the Department of children and €9.25 billion to the Department of Health over the next five years. This will be hugely important to build the social infrastructure the Deputy mentioned, which is so important to communities across our country. We have set out the detail around that in the context of the health service, building out many of the education projects, particularly in the special education area, and also the Department of children, which the Minister, Deputy Foley, is advancing. NSO 10 is reflected in the capital investment tracker, which provides a comprehensive update of the progress of all major investments with an estimated cost of greater than €20 million. It sets out the county-specific basis, specifically for investments in schools and health facilities relating to NSO 10. It is not only about what we allocate, but also about what we deliver and how quickly we can deliver it. That is why I am putting as much focus on reforming how we deliver infrastructure as I am on what to allocate to where.
Sentiment score: 0.20
I know about the significant work undertaken by that Government. Even in more difficult economic times, the then Minister of State, Barry Andrews, introduced an important initiative on the affordability of childcare, which has been built on in recent years. That was a central part of the work undertaken with the Minister, Deputy Foley, as part of the revised national development plan. The €750 million allocated to the Department of children is aimed at enabling the Minister to do more in the context of capital investment in childcare. There is a need to work with childcare and education settings. In light of the demographic shift that is happening in Ireland in the medium to long term, there is an important opportunity to use our school facilities. That is happening in many communities. We need to co-ordinate capital investment from the Department of children for separate community childcare facilities and to work with schools to utilise existing facilities. That co-ordination is ongoing. I share the Deputy's objective of doing more. That is why the Minister for children, Deputy Foley, received a significant allocation under the national development plan.
Sentiment score: 0.09
I absolutely agree. That is central to what we are doing in reforming infrastructure delivery. We are aiming to cut out as much process as possible and to put delivery at the centre. That is why 34 of the 35 actions set out for implementation in the first quarter as part of our infrastructure reforms have been delivered. The other is to be delivered imminently. It is the same in the second quarter. We are working every day to drive improved delivery, to reduce process, to rebalance regulation and to ensure that delivery is at the centre of everything we do in every area of social and economic infrastructure. That will yield improved delivery in childcare and in wider areas across the economy. I will work with the Minister, Deputy Foley, to ensure her sectoral investment plan in the Department of children is advanced quickly. I know she has worked extensively to ensure the €795 million allocated across the next five years yields that improved delivery of childcare across communities and across the country.
Sentiment score: 0.26
I propose to take Questions Nos. 11 and 17 together. The Critical Infrastructure Bill is a central pillar of the Government’s broader infrastructure acceleration agenda. The need for a Bill to fast track a limited number of strategically important projects through approval processes was identified in a report and action plan published last December. The Bill has been drafted and introduced on a priority basis. Its primary aim is to allow the Government to designate certain projects or programmes as critical. This then requires all public bodies that may have an authorisation function for these projects or programmes to prioritise consideration of them within their approval processes. In practical terms, this means that relevant bodies will be required to prioritise, avoid delay, reduce timelines, parallel processes and co-operate to fast-track designated infrastructure. I have proposed to disapply section 15 of the climate Act because of the risk of delays that this section gives rise to. The provisions in section 15 of the Act have opened up a new channel for the judicial review of the decisions of public bodies. The net effect is that it could slow the pace of infrastructural development. Delays to infrastructure roll-out are a key reason we are not reaching much of our climate and renewable energy targets. The report by Mario Draghi on EU competitiveness, for example, specifically identified Ireland as having the slowest approval process across the EU for renewable electricity. Designated projects or programmes will still have all relevant climate considerations built into their development. Every Exchequer-funded project, for example, is already required to measure and price its greenhouse gas emissions under the infrastructure guidelines. Under the Bill as drafted, climate and environmental obligations will still fully apply. That is important to state because that is not being reflected in what the Deputy has said so far. Disapplication of section 15 simply removes an unnecessary layer that risks driving judicial reviews, and we need to remove all risks around judicial reviews in the legislative framework when it comes to infrastructure delivery. Ireland will still be bound by climate and renewable energy targets. That is part of the Government's wider work to transition to a climate-resilient, biodiversity-rich and sustainable climate-neutral economy by 2050. All that will change in practical terms is the ability to challenge decisions of public bodies as they relate to how they have considered the impact of an individual project or programme against that particular section of legislation.
Sentiment score: 0.05
I have read judgments that relate to section 15 and some of them do have a chilling effect on infrastructure delivery. I am not going to set out the judgment here - I do not have it in front of me - but I have concern with how the interpretation of section 15 as it relates to the infrastructure system presents a risk in overall delivery. There have been a number of judgments relating to section 15 that present risks, and I need to be clear about that. The deference to creating a legal avenue and risk to infrastructure delivery relating to section 15 has to be addressed in the context of delivery. To take the most recent example, last week we had a permission validly given by An Coimisiún Pleanála relating to the ring road in Galway and we already have a particular NGO saying it is considering a case under section 15 for that particular infrastructure project. It has already gone through all of the statutory processes and has already gone to An Coimisiún Pleanála. The growth, the deference and the risk of all of these projects ending up in the courts bring a risk to infrastructure delivery. There is a whole other extensive area of reforms that we are doing and we are trying to make it more efficient, but a lot of what we are trying to do here relates to building a low-carbon economy in terms of our grid, which has to be developed, and many of our transport projects, which are actually in public transport. We want to derisk appeals that are taking through judicial reviews. This is one element of it. Others relate to the work that the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, is doing and the work that the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, is doing around environmental legal fees as well. The judgment that was set out and the test that is given around that judgment presents risk and that is why are seeking to disapply section 15.
Sentiment score: 0.02
I am against all judicial reviews whether it is environmentalists, landowners or anybody in the economy. When a decision is made by An Coimisiún Pleanála, we need to allow it to be built and respected. We have seen the enormous deference to allowing this system and industry of judicial reviews to build up. It is undermining delivery systems right across the board. I am against landowners taking judicial reviews, I am against developers taking judicial reviews, I am against anybody taking judicial reviews, but I respect the statutory process and appeals systems that we have. What we are trying to do is remove the risk of a particular legal avenue that is there. That is what I am saying. I have a similar view on anybody who wants to take a judicial review. I just gave last week's example because it happened to refer to section 15 and how it related to an infrastructure project that we wanted to deliver as a Government. I have read the judgment, and it sets out a particular test relating to individual projects, which present risks. Public bodies should and do climate assess projects. That is set out in the infrastructure guidelines. We need ensure that continues and there is no change to that in the context of publicly funded projects. We should allow public bodies to do that and adhere to the infrastructure guidelines. They already set that out in a transparent way and do it properly. At the end of all that and when a particular project has received permission, we should not present a legal risk to that project being delayed for two or three years. That is something that all of us need to address in the context of reform. Section 15 brings that risk in terms of overall delivery. On the Deputy's point, I get frustrated with anybody taking a judicial review on any project we want to deliver. The Deputy and I share the same views around ensuring DART+ West and many other public transport projects can advance.
Sentiment score: 0.02
On 3 December 2025, the Government published the accelerating infrastructure action plan. The report sets out a comprehensive programme of actions designed to speed up the delivery of critical infrastructure across the State and includes 30 actions across four key areas. The second pillar is regulatory reform and simplification. This means identifying where regulation leads to excessive process rather than improved outcomes. It also means examining the structure of our regulatory environment, the practices applied by regulatory bodies and how they communicate with one another and applicants. It is important to note that regulation also brings important benefits. It protects consumers and society as a whole through the application of safeguards, such as environmental protection. However, it also implies a cost and quicker and more simplified regulation can help balance this cost with the benefits. The overarching objective of pillar 2 reforms is to reduce unnecessary regulatory burden, thereby minimising time and cost impacts on infrastructure delivery and speeding it up. The establishment of the infrastructure regulatory simplification unit, as I announced in February, marked the commencement of action 9 of the report. The new unit is conducting a risk-based review of the current regulatory landscape, analysing and mapping existing processes and engaging with the bodies involved in consenting, permitting and licensing to identify and remove bottlenecks. The unit will also seek to identify opportunities to enhance co-operation and streamline processes for more effective delivery of the national development plan. It will focus on simplifying and improving the complex regulatory processes across critical infrastructure sectors, namely, housing, energy, transport and water infrastructure. Progress on this has commenced at pace and a new circular issued on 26 March. It seeks to embed the principles for better regulation of critical infrastructure. It includes a series of regulatory process reforms that must be implemented by public sector bodies with statutory, regulatory, operational or delivery responsibilities for critical infrastructure. It outlines eight principles for better regulation that public sector bodies are required to implement in their own regulatory processes. These are necessity, effectiveness and proportionality. I will detail them more in a moment.
Sentiment score: 0.21
Some of the principles of better regulation are necessity, effectiveness, proportionality, coherence, efficiency, being time-bound, transparency and accountability. The reforms and principles outlined in the circular will drive better co-ordination between bodies. We seek to simplify many of the overlapping and unduly complex regulatory frameworks. The unit will use these principles to drive reforms across many of the bodies involved in regulation for critical infrastructure to shorten timelines and simplify processes to ensure we better deliver across the infrastructure system. The circular is a direction and agreement we brought to Government. Some agencies, which I will not name, have come before the infrastructure task force and are advancing some of the regulatory reforms, reducing timelines and being part of the solution. All agencies and bodies involved in infrastructure need to reduce timelines because they are, in many instances, resulting in slowing delivery across the board. We have had good, constructive and productive discussions with bodies and reforms are advancing. I can go into more detail on the specifics.
Sentiment score: 0.32
One reform that has already happened is that of the infrastructure guidelines. We have removed the need, in many instances, for the external assurance process, which saves at least 20 weeks. We have cut the decision gates from three to two. A lot of process-related work goes into an additional decision gate where a matter is brought to Government. That process has been removed, which saves multiple weeks. The update from the joint utilities and transport clearing house is that there are about ten significant critical regulatory barriers across the utilities and infrastructure sector. The team in my Department is working to remove them. We have a specific team doing specific work on removing barriers across the infrastructure system. It is also conducting a wider review of the regulatory landscape in our country. It is all about improved speed. We seek to apply the reforms on a Gantt chart so that we can try to truncate the project timelines that exist in transport, energy and water infrastructure and other areas to yield better delivery. The infrastructure guidelines were an initial reform. Other extensive work is ongoing in the Department and by the unit on changing the process and practice within regulators, which will make a significant difference in improving delivery. We will be able to set them out in the coming weeks.
Sentiment score: 0.12
I thank the Deputy. As I said, the Critical Infrastructure Bill is a central pillar of the Government’s broader infrastructure acceleration agenda. The need for a Bill to fast-track a number of strategically important projects through approval processes was identified in the action published last December. The Bill has been drafted and introduced on a priority basis to respond to this need. Its primary aim is to allow the Government to designate certain projects or programmes as critical. This then requires all public bodies that may have an authorisation function to prioritise them within their approval processes. This will avoid delays, reduce timelines, parallel processes, and introduce a duty to co-operate across the board. In terms of the safeguards, I will make a recommendation to the Government that a designation order may be made in respect of a project or programme. The decision as to whether to designate the project rests with the Government. Where the Government decides to exercise the order, it must be laid before Dáil Éireann and if a resolution annulling the order is passed by Dáil Éireann within the next 21 days on which Dáil Éireann has sat after the order is laid before it, the order shall be annulled. This ensures that the power to designate projects or programmes ultimately rests with the Oireachtas. In addition, under section 5, I may request a relevant body to provide certain information. That is set out in terms of strengthening project performance across the board. Section 6 of the Bill provides that I may give directions to a particular body to improve performance anchored in its duties and functions. Again, that is to ensure it is on board with broader infrastructure delivery. Many of these critical projects are known. Many are in the national development plan or relate to a State body. There is no mystery about which projects will be involved. Within that, we will have to prioritise to ensure that the projects that are of critical importance receive prioritisation in the infrastructure system. They then need to be fast-tracked through existing approval processes. Separately, we are working on emergency powers to try to skip stages but that will have a much higher legal threshold because it would involve skipping potential stages. That is not in this particular piece of legislation.
Sentiment score: 0.16
We have a framework set out in the legislation detailing the factors the Minister in my position will consider when designating particular projects. Obviously, I will be accountable to the House as to why a particular project is picked and prioritised. I always respect my duties to the House in that regard. I can already see the political risk in how this will be managed in the House where Deputies will question why certain projects are not being prioritised over other projects. If this is how the Bill is used, it will undermine infrastructure delivery. The key element is that we have a limited number of strategically important projects we can seek to advance. If it becomes too big and if everything is prioritised, nothing will be prioritised. I am very much anchored to many of the strategically important sectors that are critical to Ireland’s future, such as the energy, water, transport sectors. All of those sectors are involved in building more homes and contribute to the wider social and economic development of our country. I take that national responsibility carefully, and it is grounded in how we make decisions around this. I hope, as an Oireachtas, we all get on board with that because, ultimately, if we bog it down with too many projects, the upside of this legislation gets undermined.
Sentiment score: 0.06
We have set out a framework on the factors the Minister can consider in the context of designating projects. Anchoring decisions around those are important. I assure the Deputy and anyone in this House that any decision I make on designation will be fully in the public and national interest, yielding overall delivery. I will be accountable to the House in that regard. Prioritisation always creates winners and losers in any scenario, whether it is capital projects or in a budgetary context. Trade-offs happen. For example, we have referenced programmes or projects in the energy sector. We have a programme of investment with ESB Networks and EirGrid that must be carried out. It is fairly clear that it will be a necessary national programme. It is nationwide anyway. There are other well-documented projects that are critical for Ireland. That is what I will be grounded in and the basis on which I will make decisions. We have a framework in place. I will be accountable to the House and transparent about how we come to particular decisions.
Sentiment score: 0.10
As Minister, I am responsible for setting the overall capital allocations across Departments and monitoring monthly expenditure at departmental level. The programme for Government set out clear prioritisation for the national development plan review to ensure that investment can be maximised in the coming five years for strategic infrastructure. Last year, my Department worked on the identification of barriers to infrastructure delivery. In December, it published the Accelerating Infrastructure Report and Action Plan, aimed at removing those barriers. This is critical to allow the Government to meet the increased supply of homes and support competitiveness. The plan sets out 30 targeted actions grouped under four pillars, each addressing a key area of reform. A key achievement in the first quarter has been the publication of the Critical Infrastructure Bill. Core regulatory foundations have also been put in place through the establishment of the infrastructure regulatory simplification unit; the issuance of cross-Government circulars on better regulation and reaction to legal precedent; and strengthened engagement with regulators and EU institutions to support legislative simplification. Progress has also been made on delivery and co-ordination with the completion of the national development plan review and sectoral investment plans; revised infrastructure guidelines approved and issued; enhanced National Development Finance Agency support arrangements for sponsors; and improved focus on priority projects. The removal of bottlenecks has been progressed through the joint utilities and transport clearing group. Capacity and productivity reforms within the construction sector have been advanced through publication of the workforce and skills plan and the restructuring of the construction sector group to drive procurement, innovation and digitalisation. Engagement to support leadership and public acceptance has intensified, and that work is ongoing. In quarter 2 of 2026, the focus will be on advancing priority legislation, progressing planning, regulatory and EU-related reforms, strengthening oversight of delivery risks and bottlenecks, embedding procurement and productivity initiatives and further improving co-ordination on utilities, land availability and public engagement to support timely delivery of critical infrastructure.
Sentiment score: 0.40
There are a few changes being made. I referenced the infrastructure guidelines earlier, and that is an important change. They will save significant time and they have already advanced. Separately, we are seeking to put in place a standardised template on business case development. We know a business case can take a short time with particular agencies and utilities but, in certain instances, it drifts into years. The wider public discussion often focuses on judicial reviews and reforms in that space - we need to advance that reform - but there is also a lot of time wasted at the early phase of a project around concept design. That is why the National Development Finance Agency is being stood up. It is broadening its remit to reduce the time at all elements of the project lifecycle. The Critical Infrastructure Bill will also help fast-track projects through the respective permitting, licensing and approval processes. The infrastructure task force is already bringing about reforms and changes to some of the regulatory functions that exist within regulators in respect of how they deliver infrastructure and how their processes need to be reformed to better enable infrastructure delivery.
Sentiment score: 0.21
To build homes, we have to have transport, energy and water systems in place. That is why the work with utilities to build that enabling infrastructure is absolutely critical. There will be wider co-ordination with the housing activation office, which is working on this at a local level, for example, in Offaly. What are the opportunities to advance housing supply and growth at a local level? Where is there particular road or water infrastructure or a need from an energy perspective to advance housing supply? That work is happening with the housing activation office. What we are doing in my Department is with the utilities at a national level to remove the blockages, barriers and constraints to overall delivery, which they have. All of that will yield improved delivery, improved timelines and ultimately strengthen housing supply. We know from local authorities and developers that the infrastructure gap is something that constrains overall housing supply. All of this reform will help speed up the housing supply.
Sentiment score: 0.20