28. Deputy Joe Neville asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the way in which his Department is ensuring that public infrastructure delivery is keeping pace alongside housing delivery in areas of high population growth; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51547/26]

As Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitisation, my Department is responsible for the Infrastructure Guidelines, which replaced the Public Spending Code for capital appraisal since end 2023. These set the value for money requirements and guidance for evaluating, planning and managing Exchequer-funded capital projects to ensure that vital infrastructure projects will be delivered on time and in a manner that ensures value for money through detailed evaluation, appraisal and planning.

I am also responsible for setting the overall capital allocations across Departments under the National Development Plan and for monitoring monthly expenditure at Departmental level. The revised National Development Plan, published in July 2025 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, and an additional €10billion in equity release up to 2030. This includes €3.5billion for energy grid capacity, €4.5billion for water and €2billion for low-carbon transport including Metrolink. This investment will support timely delivery.

The National Development Plan combines with the National Planning Framework to form Project Ireland 2040, the overarching planning and investment framework for the social, economic and cultural development of Ireland. It is the National Planning Framework, revised in April 2025, that acts as the overall spatial planning and development strategy for Ireland, outlining population projections to underpin the basis for individual project cases and Government’s overall strategic plan for shaping the future growth and development of our country out to the year 2040.

Management and delivery of investment projects and public services within allocation and the national frameworks, including the Infrastructure Guidelines and National Planning Framework, is a key responsibility of every Department, Accounting Officer and Minister.

Following on from the setting of Departmental medium term capital expenditure ceilings in the revised NDP, sectoral plans were published by Departments at the end of 2025 which include planned investment and projects across the country from within Departmental allocations, including a range of projects and critical infrastructure works. These plans provide visibility of the delivery pipeline, giving construction firms the certainty they need to invest in hiring, training, and scaling their operations. This multi-year approach is designed to support industry planning and ensure that regional capacity can grow in line with demand. The plans include planned investment and projects across the country. These sectoral plans are available on each Departmental website and will provide the Deputy with further detail on a sectoral basis. It is the responsibility of the individual Departments to ensure that these sectoral plans were prepared and will be delivered in line with the National Planning Framework's projections and objectives.