In this week’s Public Policy Bulletin, we delve into some of the detail of Ireland’s revised National Development Plan, which includes significant investment to prioritise sustainable public transport. We also look at the latest statistics which show that economic output in Northern Ireland increased over the second quarter of 2021 and the European Council sets out its position ahead of COP26.

Irish Government publishes €165 billion renewed National Development Plan

The Irish Government this week launched its renewed National Development Plan (NDP) for 2021-2030 that promises €165 billion in funding for a range of projects over a 10-year period.

Speaking at the launch, Taoiseach Míchael Martin stated that the plan would “drive the next stage of [Ireland’s] post-pandemic recovery” and described it as the “largest and most environmentally conscious development plan in the history of the State”. In addition to significant investment in public infrastructure, schools, healthcare and housing, the plan includes funding to support cross-border projects and projects for rural Ireland.  

Minister Eamon Ryan described the plan as putting Ireland being at the “leading edge of creating a low carbon, renewable efficient economy” adding that it will be backed up by the Climate Action Carbon Budget and the Climate Action Plan. Describing it as “the largest and greenest National Development Plan in the history of the State, Minister McGrath stated that the NDP is the culmination of significant analysis and consultation, with extensive engagement across Government Departments and stakeholders over the past year.”

The NPD is a cross departmental plan with links between sectors to meet National Strategic Outcomes. Along with funding to meet climate and housing objectives the following will be allocated in the period from 2021-2025:

• €13bn Gross Voted capital allocation for transport projects.
• €5.7bn of health investment.
• €4.4bn for education.
• €2.9bn Gross Voted capital allocation for higher education.
• €6bn in water services infrastructure.

The publication of the Plan was accompanied by research papers, investment impact case studies, progress reports and an updated MyProjectIreland Interactive Map developed in partnership with Ordnance Survey Ireland. This allows the user to navigate projects around the country, finding out what is happening in their region. Citizens can also discover what has been achieved and what is planned for their local areas by visiting gov.ie/2040

Project Ireland 2040 comprises both the National Planning Framework (NPF) and the National Development Plan - 2021-2030 . The NPF sets the vision and strategy for the development of our country to 2040 and the NDP provides the enabling investment to implement that strategy.

€35 billion package to prioritise sustainable public transport in Ireland

The Government’s revised National Development Plan includes measures to “transform how we travel, connect to our communities and help us halve our greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.”  Included in the plan are the following:

• €1 billion will be allocated to specific carbon reduction measures, including the continued delivery on improved vehicle efficiencies, incentives to encourage the switch to Electric Vehicles, EV infrastructure, alternative fuels, and demand management measures.

• €11.6 billion will be allocated to new public transport infrastructure
• €3.8 billion over 10 years will be allocated to public transport protection and renewal, helping make the transition to electric across urban fleets
• €360 million a year will support 1,000km of walking and cycling infrastructure by 2025, along with additional investment in greenways
• BusConnects, including segregated cycleways, will be rolled out in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick, and Waterford
• A spend of €8 billion on the protection and renewal of national, regional, and local roads over the 10-year period until 2030
• €5.8billion will be spent on new road investment including €675 million on new regional and local roads over the next 10 years
• €230m on Aviation and Maritime Safety and Security

Attending the launch of the NDP in Cork Minister Eamon Ryan said:

“This is a National Development Plan for a cleaner, greener, connected Ireland, a plan that supports communities and our climate goal – to cut emissions in half by 2030.  We’re making the biggest investment in transport in the history of the state – 35 billion over the decade - which will transform how we travel. This revised Plan re-orientates our investment toward greener, cleaner, and more accessible transport. It means that for every euro we invest in new road infrastructure we’re investing twice as much in new public transport.  In addition, we’re investing €360 million per year in walking and cycling infrastructure”

Economic output in Northern Ireland increased over second quarter of 2021

Northern Ireland’s economic output increased by 3.1 percent over the second quarter of 2021 and by 22.2 percent compared to the same period in the previous year, according to research recently published by the Northern Ireland Statistics & Research Agency (NISRA).

The Northern Ireland Composite Economic Index (NICEI) Quarter 2 2021, which is a quarterly measure of the performance of the Northern Ireland economy based on available official statistics, found that economic activity increased at a slower rate compared to UK GDP over the quarter.

In terms of biennial change (i.e., growth over two years), economic output increased by 0.5 percent over the period in Northern Ireland. The statistical bulletin and associated tables are available here.

European Council sets out its position for COP26

The European Council this week approved its conclusions setting out the EU’s position for COP26, which takes place in Glasgow from 31 October. The conclusions focus on the extreme urgency to increase the global response to address the climate emergency and underline the requirement for a fair and just climate transition across the world.

COP26 aims to bring countries together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement, which entered force in 2016 having been agreed at COP21. The Agreement has two main goals. The first goal is limiting the global average temperature increase to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, and pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.5°C. The second goal is adapting to the unavoidable impacts of climate change while making finance flows consistent with climate-resilient development.

The main goals of COP26 are to encourage parties to the Paris Agreement to lay out ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) towards their emission reduction targets for 2030, discuss adaptation measures, increase climate finance, and finalise the Paris Rulebook (the rules that make the Paris Agreement operational).

Read more about the conclusions setting out the EU’s position.