Main Points:Details of the investment of some €200 billion in Ireland’s infrastructure over the next decade have been unveiled by Government today.The revised NDP has been boosted by the €14 billion windfall in Apple tax, the proceeds from the sale of the State’s stake in AIB and money that had been put away in State accounts, including the Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund.It covers costs out to 2035 with a particular focus on increasing investment to support housing delivery by investing in energy, water and transport.“We will not sit back and wait to see what will happen. We will implement clear and determined action,” says Taoiseach.Almost €36 billion allocated for housing and water infrastructure, while €24 billion has been allocated for transport. The Defence Forces is to receive about €1.7 billion in new capital investment, the largest ever rise in military spending, while more than €2 billion has been allocated to the Department of Justice.The plan’s unveiling comes as the Government considers a planning fast track for key national infrastructure to accelerate project delivery.

Jack White – 5 minutes ago

The Government “factored in as much as we possibly can” the possible threat of tariffs to the State’s long term capital investment plans, the Taoiseach has said.

Ellen Coyne reports:

Launching the revised NDP on Tuesday, Micheál Martin said current spending rather than capital investments would “come under pressure” in the event of an economic downturn over the lifetime of the plan.

Mr Martin said “unprecedented investment of up to €24 billion” will be spent on extending public transport, improving road networks and road safety, promoting electrification and supporting projects like greenways.

The Taoiseach said close to €1 billion in overall funding will be allocated to research and development over the lifetime of the plan.

He added that the revised NDP had been climate-proofed. “Even though there are many countries internationally who are pushing to move in the opposite direction, we believe that the climate crisis is acute and addressing it must remain a priority,” Mr Martin said.

While the NDP is designed to give certainty to large-scale capital investment plans over the coming decade, the Government has said that the plan will be reviewed within 3 years “and updated based on the economic and fiscal estimates at that point.”

Jack White – 17 minutes ago

The Taoiseach said the revised NDP is “very much new money for new projects,” Ellen Coyne reports.

Mr Martin said that there is “very definitive equity” being invested into Uisce Éireann and EirGrid. He said that the investment in Uisce Éireann is “unprecedented, but it’s ring-fenced.”

Mr Martin added that the announcement of the NDP was designed to send a clear signal to the investment community: “This infrastructure investment is one for the long haul.”

Tánaiste Simon Harris said the revised NDP was giving Cabinet ministers “certainty about the envelope of money” that they have available to them for the next five years.

The revised spending ceilings for other major Government departments between 2026 and 2030 are:

Department of Transport: €22.3 billion

Department of Health: €9.2 billion

Department of Education: €7.5 billion

Department of Climate, Environment and Energy: €5.6 billion

Department Further and Higher Education: €4.5 billion

Jack White – 18 minutes ago

Asked about a lack of detail of specific projects within the plan, the Taoiseach has said individual ministers will announce such details closer to the budget.

Jack White – 27 minutes ago

Housing to benefit from highest allocation

The Department of Housing will benefit from the highest allocation of resources under the revised NDP over the next five years, which has committed to increased investment in infrastructure to try to speed up the delivery of housing, Ellen Coyne reports.

The revised departmental ceilings announced in the NDP on Tuesday provides €102.4 billion in capital investment over the period 2026-2030, for Government ministers to use for long term and large scale capital projects.

Of this, almost €36 billion in funding is available to the Department of Housing between 2026 and 2030. This includes €7.7 billion for water infrastructure, and another €28.2 billion for housing and other investments.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin said that if the Government wants to achieve 300,000 homes over the next five years, “we simply have to” upgrade the funding for water infrastructure.

The Tánaiste Simon Harris added that the NDP investments were just “one important piece of the jigsaw,” and that the Government would also have to focus on private investment in housing.

Jack White – 34 minutes ago

The revised NDP will see €102.4 billion allocated to Government Departments for 2026 to 2030, Ellen Coyne reports.

This will include €10 billion in equity funding for large infrastructure projects in water, energy and transport sectors.

It includes €3.5 billion in equity funding to ESB and EirGrid this year, “to fund enhanced energy grid capacity to support the Government’s housing and competitiveness objectives”

Another €2 billion will be given to Uisce Éireann in 2025, which the Government says will enable the delivery of 300,000 additional homes by 2030.

The Government will allocate a further €2.5 billion to Uisce Éireann for large scale projects over the same period.

According to the revised NDP, €2 billion will be allocated to low-carbon transportation including the MetroLink.

Jack White – 35 minutes ago

Speaking at Government Buildings, Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said the revised National Development Plan and the outline budget plans “reflect our determination that Ireland will meet and overcome the challenges we face.”

“We will not sit back and wait to see what will happen. We will implement clear and determined action,” he said.

The investment which will protect the competitiveness of the Irish economy, he said, safeguard and grow employment, and “address the defining social challenge of our time – Housing.”

Martin Wall reports:

The health service is to receive €9.25 billion in funding under the Government’s revised National Development Plan.

Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill had sought funding for a programme of digitalisation in the health service including the introduction of electronic patient records. This was expected to cost about €2 billion.

She also included the provision of new and refurbished community nursing units across the country in her submission to Government under the revised plan.

Other areas for investment sought by the minister included new and refurbished bases for ambulances as well as new vehicles.

A total of €2.18 billion has been allocated to the Department of Justice, Jack Horgan-Jones reports.

This funding is expected to support investment in prison beds, garda stations and other capital projects.

Some of the sectoral allocations are beginning to leak out, Jack Horgan-Jones reports.

It’s understood €27.5 billion has been assigned to the departments led by Darragh O’Brien.

Some €24 billion has been allocated for transport which includes €2 billion for the Metro North project while a further €3.5 billion has been allocated for energy.

The Department of Health, meanwhile, has been allocated €9.25 billion while a further €4.55 billion has been allocated to the Department of Further and Higher Education.

Cliff Taylor writes: Following a lot of last minute tension, the Government has signed off on a revised National Development Plan which adds around €34 billion to existing State investment plans between the years 2026 and 2030.

This is a big increase, as total spending over the period comes to just over €102 billion.

However, the increase will not result in a commensurate rise in the scale of project delivery because the cost of delivering projects has gone up a lot since the original plan was drawn up.

Where will the additional money come from? This scale of increase would not have been possible without the €14 billion funds available from the Apple tax settlement.

Cash from the sale of State shares in AIB will also contribute. The plan will also involve running down expected budget surpluses – perhaps by some €3 billion per annum.

While the State has cash in hand, the longer-term funding of the plan does require economic growth and the State finances to remain healthy.

A short-term wobble could be dealt with by money put aside in two State funds, which will total €16 billion by the end of this year.

But a more significant downturn – perhaps due to the policies of Donald Trump – would leave the State facing difficult decisions.

Tánaiste Simon Harris has said the revised NDP will “transform Ireland.”

Revised NDP to provide largest ever rise in military spending

The Defence Forces is to receive about €1.7 billion in new capital investment under the revised National Development Plan (NDP).

The move will represent the largest ever rise in military spending, Martin Wall writes.

The new funding will be focused on the introduction of new primary radar systems to identify aircraft in Irish skies as well as sonar equipment to detect objects under the sea.

There will also be investment in new armoured personnel vehicles to provide force protection for troops.

It is understood the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence Simon Harris has secured more than a 50 per cent increase on defence spending under the revised NDP.

It is understood the Government believes the €1.7 billion capital investment will allow Ireland to reach the mid-level point of military capabilities – known as Level of Ambition 2 set out in the report of the Commission on Defence in 2022.

Mr Harris has said Ireland must get to Level of Ambition 2, which would mean State infrastructure and capabilities on defence were at a point where it was in line with other smaller countries in Europe.

It is understood the Government believes the allocation under the revised National Development Plan for Defence will mean Ireland can work towards the Level of Ambition 2 target initially before moving over subsequent years to the higher Level of Ambition 3.

This would see Ireland develop more extensive defence capabilities including fighter jets and a larger Naval Service.

Housing and water are set to receive about €40 billion from the Government’s overall €100 billion expenditure on infrastructure and capital projects over the next five years.

The Government found another €4 billion for health and housing during down-to-the-wire negotiations over the National Development Plan on Monday evening, The Irish Times has learned.

Jack Horgan-Jones reports:

The plan will see the allocation of more than €200 billion over the coming decade – with the figure ballooning in recent days as talks between Coalition leaders and Cabinet ministers continued.

Originally, some €20 billion was to be added to the National Development Plan – but Minister for Public Expenditure and Infrastructure Jack Chambers said over the weekend that figure would rise to €30 billion.

Senior Government sources confirmed on Tuesday morning that an additional €3.9 billion was added for health and housing on Monday night.

This means that there will be €34 billion extra when compared to the existing NDP, including €10 billion up until 2030 to pay for megaprojects in energy, water and transport.

In total, there will be €102.4 billion allocated to different sectors for the period 2026-2030, and another €100 billion for the years 2030-2035.

Government sources indicated that the review will take in total public investment of €275.4 billion, including exchequer and non-exchequer funding and the release of once off payouts from the Apple tax money, the sale of AIB shares and State funds such as the Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund.

The plan being published today is one of the “biggest ever investments in transforming fundamental infrastructure,” Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said.

The National Development Plan being published by Government today is one of the biggest ever investments in transforming fundamental infrastructure in this country. pic.twitter.com/CHu7RPxV3H

— Micheál Martin (@MichealMartinTD) July 22, 2025