Review to establish pathway of outstanding Mayo capital projects

A Mayo TD has questioned the ongoing delays in respect of many capital projects, including school extensions and other facilities, across the county.

Deputy Paul Lawless asked Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Jack Chambers the way the government plans to manage the increasing costs associated with the National Development Plan, especially in the context of inflationary pressures and rising material costs.

The minister replied: "Increasing costs challenge our ability to provide the necessary infrastructure to service a modern society and economy.

"They also represent a real risk to our competitiveness and to our attractiveness as a location for foreign direct investment, so achieving value for money by reducing cost and schedule overruns is a vital part of delivering the NDP.

"Embedding value for money will therefore be a core focus of the review of the National Development Plan.

"The review will assess sectoral expenditure and delivery to identify potential efficiencies, so that more infrastructure can be delivered from within the existing level of resources provided.

"The review will also ensure that cost estimates for capital projects are appropriate, having been developed against a benchmark and with sufficient contingency, so as to provide greater certainty to government in making investment decisions.

"In addition, the Programme for Government commits my department to reviewing the infrastructure guidelines and creating a Public Investment Act, requiring sponsoring agencies to meet timelines on the development of project appraisals and other evaluations.

"This will reduce delays in decision making and embed value for money across all capital projects."