Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 13 January 2026
2594. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the number of projects in his Department that were delayed in 2023 and 2024 due to the change of document from the Public Spending Code to the Infrastructure Guidelines, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [75111/25]
View answerThe Public Spending Code: A Guide to Evaluating, Planning and Managing Public Investment was published in December 2019. The Infrastructure Guidelines superseded the Public Spending Code, with initial actions effective from March 2023.
In line with Department of Public Expenditure NDP Delivery and Reform’s Circular 06/2023, issued in March 2023, all new public investment proposals from 29 March 2023 onwards complied with the updated requirements. Public investment proposals already progressing through the project expenditure lifecycle were required to comply with the requirements in the updated guidance as they moved forward, particularly as they reached the next relevant Decision Gate.
The guidance allowed progressing projects to transition to the requirements of the Infrastructure Guidelines without impact, thus no projects in my Department were delayed due to the change in documents from the Public Spending Code to the Infrastructure Guidelines.
