Written answer
National Development Plan
Capital funding under the National Development Plan is allocated and monitored by department, not by region, with individual ministers setting project priorities; the Government says balanced regional development remains a priority. Planned Cork investments include BusConnects, commuter rail, UCC buildings, Docklands regeneration, housing, and wastewater infrastructure.
42. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the actions he has taken to ensure regional counterbalancing and fair funding shares to Cork under the National Development Plan. [73837/26]
Comment on this
As Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, I am responsible for setting the overall capital allocations across Departments and for monitoring expenditure at Departmental level.
The National Development Plan (NDP) Review 2025 was published in July 2025 and set out overall Government capital expenditure ceilings to 2035 alongside annual sectoral capital expenditure ceilings for the period 2026 to 2030.
Following the agreement of annual sectoral capital allocations for the period out to 2030, each Department had to develop a Sectoral Investment Plan. These Plans were published throughout November and December 2025 and outlined the specific capital projects and programmes to be prioritised and delivered within their five-year allocation.
The responsibility for the management and delivery of individual projects within these Sectoral Investment Plans rests with the individual sponsoring Department in each case. Each Minister is responsible for deciding on the priority programmes and projects that will be delivered under their remit within the NDP. Expenditure is therefore allocated and monitored on a Departmental basis and not a geographical basis.
A key priority for this Government is the achievement of balanced regional development. This goal is at the heart of Project Ireland 2040, which includes the National Planning Framework (NPF) setting out Government’s overarching spatial strategy for the next twenty years, alongside the NDP.
Since Project Ireland 2040 was first launched in 2018, Government has overseen the delivery of a number of impactful NDP projects across the country, including in county Cork. Future planned projects for the region as outlined within the Sectoral Investment Plans include:
• The delivery of BusConnects Cork;
• The phased delivery of the Cork Area Commuter Rail, with Phase 1 delivery nearing completion;
• The delivery of new buildings at University College Cork under the Higher Education Strategic Infrastructure Programme;
• The Cork Docklands regeneration project, supported by the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF);
• Additional Social and Affordable housing units; and
• Wastewater Treatment infrastructure in Midleton and Macroom.
Continued updates on the delivery of capital projects are available through the NDP Construction Pipeline.
The NDP Construction Pipeline maps out a clear view of infrastructure investments over the medium to long term. The pipeline allows the construction industry to know what spending is planned and can help businesses and investors prepare for the future by creating long-term business plans, supporting workforce planning and investment in the advanced skills, technologies, and practices needed for future growth.