The Government has revealed details of a major infrastructure plan over the next five years, with total investment reaching €112 billion, reports RTE.
The updated National Development Plan (NDP) includes funding for key projects in housing, energy, water, and transport from 2026 to 2030.
Roughly €30 billion of this amount is considered new funding, partly sourced from Apple tax revenues and proceeds from the sale of AIB shares, reports RTE.
Of the €112 billion, €102.4 billion will be allocated to departments between 2026 and 2030 under Exchequer spending limits within the NDP, with a further €10 billion in equity funding aimed at delivering large-scale water, energy, and transport initiatives.
Housing—excluding water infrastructure—will receive up to €36 billion in investment, reports RTE.
The plan’s central focus is housing, with increased funding to build homes along with the necessary electricity and water infrastructure.
The transport sector will receive €24 billion, including €2 billion earmarked for the Metrolink in Dublin, reports RTE.
Meanwhile, €3.5 billion has been allocated to electricity and grid infrastructure, directed to ESB Networks and Eirgrid.
An additional €2 billion in equity funding will go to Uisce Éireann in 2025 to support infrastructure for 300,000 more homes by 2030, reports RTE.
Uisce Éireann will also receive €2.5 billion for large-scale projects between now and 2030.
At a press briefing at Government Buildings, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the plan demonstrates the Government’s “determination that Ireland will meet and overcome the challenges we face,” reports RTE.
He stressed the need to “immediately implement a step-change in the scale and quality of public investment in critical sectors.”
“By any measure this will represent the largest investment in economic and social infrastructure in the history of the State,” he said, reports RTE.
Mr Martin said “housing remains our most critical priority” and the Government is “determined to keep working to remove barriers standing in the way of building the homes our people need.”
He noted that the private sector would need to take a leading role in housing construction, reports RTE.
The Taoiseach also said the Government aims to establish a clear and stable environment for private investment in apartment and house development.
Speaking alongside him, Tánaiste Simon Harris said the next step is to ensure delivery matches the promises laid out in the NDP, reports RTE.
He stressed that actual implementation must align with the budgeted commitments.
Mr Harris said the plan is driven by an ambition to create a better Ireland, reshape the country, and secure its future.
He described the plan as “unprecedented in scale and scope,” but said it’s time to “cut red tape” and eliminate “self-imposed barriers,” reports RTE.
He added that Ireland’s competitiveness is heavily reliant on today’s investments to resolve existing infrastructure gaps.
“Today is really a significant moment in this Government’s overall response to the uncertain world we inhabit,” he said, reports RTE.
He said this effort must be guided by two principles: protecting the economy and building for the future.
Social Democrats TD Cian O’Callaghan responded to the plan by saying it is “so vague it doesn’t even rise to the level of wish list,” reports RTE.
According to Mr O’Callaghan, the Taoiseach’s pledges to reform the country “ring hollow” because they closely mirror “carbon copy” assurances made in 2021.
“The last government committed to transforming our housing and infrastructure during its term. Instead, housing delivery has stalled; our energy and water infrastructure is crumbling and no large public transport projects have been delivered,” he said, reports RTE.
“Nothing in this document inspires any confidence that anything will be different this time,” Mr O’Callaghan added, reports RTE.
The Government said Ireland’s need for major capital spending under the NDP is driven by several key factors—population growth, demographic shifts, balanced regional development, climate goals, and competitiveness.
It noted that population growth has remained strong in recent years, with a decline in the younger demographic and a rise in the working-age population and those over 65, reports RTE.
These demographic trends are expected to continue into the medium and long term.
According to the CSO’s most recent forecasts, the population is expected to grow to between 5.60 and 5.76 million, with continuing demographic shifts similar to recent patterns.
By 2040, the CSO estimates a population of between 5.75 and 6.30 million, reports RTE.
Under the revised National Planning Framework, Ireland is now preparing for a 2040 population of 6.1 million, which is 250,000 higher than the 2018 projection when the framework was first introduced.
Under the NPF, Ireland is split into three regions: Northern and Western, Southern, and Eastern and Midlands, reports RTE.
The Government acknowledged that Dublin—and to a lesser degree, the broader Eastern and Midlands area—has seen greater growth in population, housing, and employment compared to the other regions.
To promote more balanced development, the Government now aims for a 50:50 split in future growth between the Eastern and Midland region and the combined Southern and Northern and Western regions, reports RTE.
It is also promoting compact growth with a 50:50 split between Ireland’s five cities—Dublin, Galway, Cork, Limerick, and Waterford—and the rest of the country.
All departments and agencies will be required to subject projects seeking NDP funding to a climate and environmental impact assessment, the Government said, reports RTE.
This approach allows policymakers to continually review how projects are prioritised and how they contribute to national goals.
By significantly increasing infrastructure investment and aligning capital spending with the NDP’s core priorities of housing delivery and economic competitiveness, the Government said it is taking key steps to safeguard Ireland’s future prosperity, reports RTE.
The Government said a larger construction workforce will be necessary to achieve the targets set out in the National Development Plan.
According to previous estimates from the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (IFAC), the construction sector would need to grow by nearly 80,000 workers to meet current goals, including housing and retrofitting targets, reports RTE.
“With the additional funding now allocated as part of this updated NDP, there will be a further increase in demand for construction workers to deliver the expanded pipeline of projects,” the Government said.
It also emphasised the need for digital innovation and technology adoption within the construction sector to improve productivity and support the delivery of national infrastructure goals, reports RTE.
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