1. Overview

• The major public investment approved by Government and detailed in the new NDP will play a significant role in addressing the opportunities and challenges faced by Ireland over the coming years from issues such as Covid-19, Brexit, housing, health, climate action and a population projected to grow by one million people between 2016 and 2040.
• The NDP was drafted following a review conducted over two phases which commenced in October 2020 and included extensive engagement, public consultation and analysis led by the National Investment Office and available on Project Ireland 2040 webpage (gov.ie/2040).

2. Benefits of Investment

• It is estimated that an annual average of up to approximately 47,000 direct and 33,000 indirect construction jobs will be sustained by the investment over the course of the NDP.
• Economic modelling indicates that the investment planned under the NDP will result in increased GDP, employment and wages out to 2030.

3. Climate Action and the Environment

• Extensive efforts have been made to ensure that the NDP will support the Government’s climate ambitions. For the first time in Ireland, climate and environmental assessment of the NDP measures has been undertaken, along with an assessment of the alignment of the plan as a whole with the ideals of a green recovery plan.
• Commitments are made to further reforms of the Public Spending Code and to the treatment of Energy Performance Contracts.
• Most significantly, €5 billion in additional carbon tax receipts over the period of the NDP have been allocated to increase capital investment levels in energy efficiency.

4. Funding

• The NDP sets out Departmental allocations to 2025 and a total public investment of €165 billion over the period 2021-2030. This will bring public investment to 5 per cent of GNI*, well above the recent EU average of 3 per cent of GDP.

5. Investment Framework

• The NDP is not intended to be a comprehensive list of all the public investment projects that will take place over the next ten years. However, where sufficient planning and evaluation has already taken place, the NDP contains a range of expenditure commitments.
• The plan is underpinned by an updated Public Spending Code which came into effect on the 1st January 2020 and sets out the value for money requirements for the evaluation, planning and management of public investment projects in Ireland.
• The launch of the NDP document has been accompanied by publication of an updated Investment Tracker and MyProjectIreland mapping tool which provides details on specific projects (see gov.ie/2040).

6. Improving Delivery

• A range of initiatives and reforms which are underway and planned to help develop the capacity of public sector bodies to effectively deliver public investment are detailed in the plan. This is alongside some key reforms to governance which are being implemented by the National Investment Office in order to improve project appraisal and reduce the risk of project overspends.
• Finally, the Government’s policy approach to supporting the Irish construction sector is detailed along with the actions being taken to drive innovation and digital adoption.