Ministers Chambers announces a review of the National Development Plan
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From: Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform
- Published on: 8 April 2025
- Last updated on: 10 April 2025
Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform, Jack Chambers announces government approval to commence a review of the National Development Plan.
Minister Chambers today (8 April 2025) welcomed the agreement by Government that the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform (DPENDR) will commence a review of the National Development Plan, which will be completed in July 2025.
The review will cover all public capital investment to 2035 and will include Exchequer funds, the Apple Escrow funds, the Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund, and proceeds of the AIB share sales. This government will prioritise the delivery of transformative, critical and growth-enhancing infrastructure over the next five years. While there will be a record level of funding available, it will be necessary to make choices and prioritise investments in sectors and programmes that boost our economic growth and competitiveness, while providing value for money.
A particular focus is to increase investment to support housing delivery and competitiveness by prioritising growth enhancing infrastructure such as energy grid capacity, water supply, transport connectivity and health digitalisation.
To meet the ambitious timeline for the review, officials in DPENDR have commenced work identifying the objectives, priorities and critical milestones for the review. Individual departments will now be asked to identify their priority programmes, with particular delivery focus on 2026 to 2030 and on any projects that are concluding. This will be followed by a series of bilateral engagements between DPENDR and individual spending departments to agree departments’ funding requirements in line with the objectives of the review. Interested stakeholders and members of the public will be invited to make submissions on the review through public consultation, published in the coming months.
The review of the National Development Plan (NDP) will also include a climate assessment of any programmes receiving funding.
On announcing the National Development Plan review, Minister Chambers said:
"I welcome the recent decision by Government to begin a review of the National Development Plan. Total capital investment in 2025 will be over €15 billion, the highest annual spend to date in this country and four times the level of investment only 10 years ago. This continued investment is providing housing and other growth supporting investment such as school buildings and transport infrastructure all across the country, building capacity for our future. The Programme for Government has set out a clear ambition to build on this strong base over the next five years, embracing new economic opportunities in growing areas including digitalisation and the green transition. I will work closely with my Ministerial colleagues across all sectors over the coming months to agree a new NDP that will further boost economic growth, enhance our competitiveness and lead to increased balanced regional development.
“Delivery of essential infrastructure is a key driver in attracting and retaining investment in Ireland, growing our economy, fostering regional development, delivering on our housing targets and achieving our ambitious climate goals. In the coming weeks, I will bring forward to Government my plans for implementing the Programme for Government commitments on infrastructure reform, focusing on delivery, accountability and value for money.
“Stable, long-term delivery of essential infrastructure is an absolute priority for the government. The review of the NDP announced today refocuses and reenergises the delivery of vital infrastructure and ensures the continuation of sustained growth and prosperity for our country.”
Notes
Project Ireland 2040 and the National Development Plan
Project Ireland 2040 includes the National Planning Framework (NPF), which sets the overarching spatial strategy out to 2040, along with the National Development Plan (NDP), which sets out the ten year investment strategy. The National Development Plan itself sets out the investment priorities that will underpin the successful implementation of the NPF, and wider government policies. The overall funding of €165 billion for the lifetime of the National Development Plan out to 2030 was allocated on an indicative basis to each of the ten National Strategic Outcomes set out in the NPF. In addition, the NDP also set out 5-year expenditure allocations by the department for the period 2021 – 2025. The multi-annual NDP ceilings were devised to give departments a degree of certainty for future planning. An additional €2.25 billion was allocated in 2024 as part of the update to the National Development Plan which set out revised ceilings from 2024 to 2026.
The Programme for Government (PfG) commits to an ‘early review of the National Development Plan which will be completed in July 2025’. It notes that the Review will encompass all public capital investment and will utilise State funds (including the Apple Escrow Fund, other share sales, broader State funds including the Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund).