Our Government and Infrastructure team has taken a look at the proposed capital spending proposals of each party which are likely to be central to any negotiations on a programme for government following the election.
The current government established Project Ireland 2040 and within this is the National Development Plan 2018-2027, a 10 year plan for €116 billion of capital investment across all sectors. What is clear from the manifestos proposed is that there is broad agreement for the need for capital investment and in most cases parties are proposing further capital spending.
We have summarised below the capital spending plans signalled by five of the political parties in their election manifestos.
Fianna Fáil
Fine Gael
Sinn Féin
Labour
Fianna Fáil
Fine Gael
Sinn Féin
Green Party
Labour
Fianna Fáil
Fine Gael
Sinn Féin
Green Party
Labour
Fianna Fáil
Fine Gael
Sinn Féin
Green Party
Labour
Fianna Fáil
Fine Gael
Sinn Féin
Green Party
Labour
Fianna Fáil
Fine Gael
Sinn Féin
Green Party
Labour
Fianna Fáil
Fine Gael
Sinn Féin
Green Party
Fianna Fáil
Fine Gael
Sinn Féin
Not surprisingly, each party is proposing additional capital spending on top of current plans set out in Project Ireland 2040 and the Climate Action Plan. Some have costed these proposals while others have remained silent. Given the early stage of such plans, they are difficult to cost anyway.
A majority of Fine Gael policies are building on what have been set out on Project Ireland 2040 with a focus on implementation and some additional funding. Fianna Fáil have set out some interesting proposals including the introduction of a National Infrastructure Commission to focus on infrastructure delivery and Climate Action.
There is a big focus on health and housing with all parties either supporting or building on the Sláinte Care proposals and various targets for social, affordable and general housing stock. Climate Action and Transport policies have a strong focus on capital spending, in particular Public Transport and energy efficiency upgrades.
Fianna Fáil, Sinn Fein and the Greens all support the DART Underground project, something that is not currently costed in the National Development Plan. The Green Party, Sinn Fein and Labour have all set out a higher level of capital spend, assuming they are additional to existing plans.
Regardless of political party, there is a strong focus on more spending and a very positive note for the future sustainability of our economy. We look forward to further actions on delivery.