Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 11 December 2025
370. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation for an overview of the progress made to date under National Strategic Outcome (NSO) 4 of the National Development Plan 2021-2030; the additional funding allocated under this NSO following the review of the NDP; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [70476/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitisation, I am responsible for setting the overall capital allocations across Departments and for monitoring monthly expenditure at Departmental level.
In the 2021 NDP review, the Government originally committed €165 billion in capital investment for the period 2021-30, and subsequently agreed to additional funding of €2.25 billion in March 2024 for 2024-2026.
The revised National Development Plan, published in July, set out €275.4 billion in public capital investment to 2035 – the largest and most significant capital injection in our economy in the history of the State. Following the agreement of the revised NDP in July 2025, gross capital expenditure ceilings for all sectors have now been set out to 2030.
National Strategic Outcome (NSO) 4 relates to Sustainable Mobility and a commitment to a more environmentally sustainable public transport system. Given the nature of this strategic outcome, many projects take a number of years to fully deliver, and transport has been highlighted as a critical growth-enabling sector in the NDP Review.
A total of €22.3 billion was allocated to the Department of Transport for the 2026-2030 period. A further €2 billion was allocated from the ICNF to support low carbon transportation including projects such as Metrolink under the NDP Review.
Considerable progress has been made on a range of projects across the country under NSO 4 since the 2021 NDP review, including for example:
• Planning permissions for nine Bus Corridors under BusConnects Dublin, final network details published for BusConnects Cork, planning permissions for BusConnects Galway, planning implementation for BusConnects Limerick and starting public consultations for BusConnects Waterford; and
• Over €320 million invested in walking and cycling projects through the Active Travel Infrastructure Programme.
The Department of Transport Sectoral Investment plan was published on 26 November and is available to download from gov.ie. The plan sets out in detail the commitments to delivery for the sector and reflects the Government’s determination to build a transport system which is efficient, low-carbon, and responsive to the evolving needs of our people, our economy, and our environment.
A full list of projects and programmes for each of the ten National Strategic Outcomes can be found in the regular publications by my Department on the gov.ie site:
• The capital investment tracker provides a composite update on the progress of all major investments with an estimated cost of greater than €20 million;
• The myProjectIreland interactive map details projects across the country and provides details on specific projects by county and contains smaller investments such as schools and health facilities; and
• The Project Ireland 2040 Annual and Regional Reports highlight achievements and give a detailed overview of the public investments that have been made throughout the country, including detail from across Government on the national strategic objectives. The forthcoming Project Ireland 2024 Annual and Regional Reports will provide full and up to date detail on delivery of the National Strategic Outcomes.
