logo
National Development Plan allocates almost €4bn for defence and justice capital spends

National Development Plan allocates almost €4bn for defence and justice capital spends

Irish Examiner6 days ago
Capital spend on defence is set to total €1.7bn over the next five years under the National Development Plan (NDP), with justice due to get a total capital budget of €2.18bn.
The total allocation for the Department of Defence between 2026-2030 compares to €697m in the five years 2021 to 2025 — an increase of 144%, excluding inflation.
The total spend on the Department of Justice in 2026-2030 compares to €1.35bn in 2021 to 2025 — a rise of 61%, not factoring in inflation.
The expansion of the Department of Justice to incorporate migration explains, in part, the extra capital allocation. In addition, cybersecurity and the National Cyber Security Centre have just been transferred to it.
The National Development Review Plan 2025, published on Tuesday, outlines annual allocations across the security departments:
Defence — €300m in 2026, rising to €340m in both 2027 and 2028, and increasing to €360m in both 2029 and 2030;
Justice — €390m in 2026, rising to €430m in 2027, €440m in 2028, €455m in 2029, and €465m in 2030.
There was no detail of department allocations in the 49-page NDP review, compared to the 184-page NDP 2021-2030 document.
Levels of investment
The Government has committed to implement the second of three levels of investment (LOA2) set out by the Commission on the Defence Forces in February 2022, centred on increasing the annual defence budget from €1.1bn in 2022 to €1.5bn in 2028, based on 2022 prices.
The NDP capital spends are also based on the Defence Equipment Development Plan 2020-2024 and the Defence Capital Infrastructure Development Plan 2022-2027.
Major capital projects include three C295 surveillance aircrafts (third due in September), a refit of 80 Mowag armoured personnel carriers, a primary radar system (due in 2028), four modern helicopters (the commission recommended eight), and an expansion of the naval fleet to nine ships by early in the next decade.
The Defence Equipment Plan 2020 also mentions plans to acquire an 'air combat interceptor', but it is not clear where that plan went. It is not part of LOA2, although LOA3 does recommend a squadron of fighter jets capable of interception.
Overcrowding crisis
It is not yet clear what the breakdown is under the justice budget and how much will go to prison expansion and refurbishment, given the escalating overcrowding crisis in the Irish Prison Service. The programme for government commits to 1,500 new spaces by 2030.
Justice minister Jim O'Callaghan recently secured Cabinet agreement to accelerate the delivery of 960 of the additional spaces in Castlerea, Midlands, Wheatfield, and Mountjoy Prisons.
He said that, 'subject to the necessary funding' in the NDP, this should speed up delivery by 12 to 18 months.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Excessive regulation delaying key infrastructure projects, Cabinet to hear
Excessive regulation delaying key infrastructure projects, Cabinet to hear

Irish Examiner

time3 hours ago

  • Irish Examiner

Excessive regulation delaying key infrastructure projects, Cabinet to hear

Big projects are battling against too much regulation and are being delayed by up to five years due to judicial reviews, Cabinet is to be told. Public expenditure minister Jack Chambers will brief ministers on a report by his department's infrastructure division at the final Cabinet meeting before the summer break at Government Buildings. It is understood that this report will outline emerging themes and barriers that are delaying the delivery of infrastructure in Ireland following consultation and engagement. It comes just a week after the publication of the review of the National Development Plan. It is understood that the report will outline 12 key thematic issues delaying the delivery of infrastructure. These include the increased regulatory and legal burden for those developing key infrastructure, inconsistent planning decisions, limits on regulatory agencies' ability to prioritise and consider wider societal aims, and limited public awareness of the consequences of poor infrastructure. The report is also expected to place a heavy emphasis on the impact that judicial reviews are having, as well as the growing threat of judicial reviews on infrastructure delivery. It is estimated that the planning and consenting process for critical infrastructure takes between three and five years longer due to the added threat, duration, and impact of judicial reviews. The report will also outline areas of international best practice that are being examined as potential solutions in Ireland. These include recent reforms such as the One Canadian Economy Act 2025, which provides for certain projects of national interest to be fast-tracked. The final report, together with an accompanying action plan, will be published in the autumn. Housing minister James Browne, meanwhile, will bring plans to Cabinet to increase housing supply targets for each local authority in the country. The number of units zoned for will increase from 33,000 to 83,000 per annum until 2034 under the new guidelines. ⁠It is understood that Mr Browne has indicated that he expects 'urgent and immediate action' from all councils to respond to the housing crisis'. Ministers are also expected to be updated on minister of State for planning John Cummins' proposals to exempt certain developments from having to seek planning permission. A public consultation will go live today. Elsewhere, social protection minister Dara Calleary will tell ministers that pensions auto-enrolment is making "good progress" before its launch in January. It follows earlier delays to the project, which saw it pushed from January 2025 to September 2025 to January 2026. Energy minister Darragh O'Brien will bring a bill which will outline how ESB Networks should deal with unmanaged vegetation and commercial forestry close to electricity infrastructure. This was developed in the wake of Storm Eowyn. Read More Call for Government to republish summer budget projections after US-EU trade deal

International protection applicants from Pakistan added to accelerated processing list
International protection applicants from Pakistan added to accelerated processing list

Irish Times

time5 hours ago

  • Irish Times

International protection applicants from Pakistan added to accelerated processing list

Asylum seekers from Pakistan will have their applications fast-tracked under plans introduced on Tuesday. The Department of Justice said applications from Pakistan have grown 'considerably' in recent years. In each of the last two quarters, Pakistani nationals ranked as the second-highest nationality for international protection applications. As of July 24th, 905 people from Pakistan sought international protection in Ireland this year. This compares to 1,391 for the whole of 2024, 624 in 2023, 242 in 2022 and 68 in 2021. Since November 2022, international protection applicants from certain countries receive a decision on their application in about four months. This timeline is expected to further reduce in the coming months, said a department spokesperson. READ MORE Accelerated processing for certain international protection applications previously focused on people from 15 'safe countries of origin': Albania, Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Egypt, Georgia, India, Kosovo, Malawi, Morocco, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and South Africa. The process was more recently widened to include countries from where there has been a surge in the numbers seeking asylum, such as Nigeria and Jordan. Commenting on the addition of Pakistan to the accelerated processing list, Mr O'Callaghan said he is 'committed to ensuring that the protection system works for those who genuinely need our help'. One of the ways this is done is by prioritising applications for people from safe countries or countries with a large number of applications, he said. 'This approach allows us to adapt to the changing patterns of international protection and is a critical element of our firm but fair approach.' Mr O'Callaghan said this approach is 'working'. He noted there has been a 43 per cent reduction in application numbers compared to this time last year. A third of asylum seekers entering the State this year have had their applications considered under the fast-track decision-making process, according to figures from earlier this month . Figures shared at a meeting of the Cabinet subcommittee on migration showed 32 per cent of applications are being accelerated.

Plan to cut VAT on hospitality sparks ferocious row between ministers
Plan to cut VAT on hospitality sparks ferocious row between ministers

Extra.ie​

time13 hours ago

  • Extra.ie​

Plan to cut VAT on hospitality sparks ferocious row between ministers

A spat between the Coalition parties over Fine Gael plans to cut VAT on hospitality to 9% has developed into a 'a ferocious row'. Simmering tensions about where budgetary cuts will land this autumn came to the fore last week between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael over the issue of VAT cuts. After years of record spending increases, the review prior to the Summer Economic Statement came as a shock to ministers. Senior Fianna Fáil Minister of State Niall Collins. Pic: Gareth Chaney/Collins Photos In an extraordinary attack on the proposal, which would devour two thirds of the money allocated to tax cuts, the senior Fianna Fáil Minister of State Niall Collins said luxury and five-star hotels benefiting from a universal rate reduction to 9% would sit 'very, very uncomfortably with me'. However, Enterprise Minister Peter Burke has doubled down in his determination to see the €1billion cut through. He told 'The reduction on VAT is a promise we made to the hospitality sector in good faith. I am fully committed to its delivery as it is core and central to sustaining the 228,000 jobs in that sector, many of which are in regional locations. Enterprise Minister Peter Burke. Pic: Sam Boal/Collins Photos 'The tourism sector is a €9billion industry and one which I am focused on supporting particularly with our new tourism strategy which will be published in September.' But one Fianna Fáil minister said of the proposal: 'Fine Gael once again appear to be forgetting they are the junior partners. They do not decide tax policy and they certainly are not going to be allowed to create a scenario where the public will be furious over a measure that will only benefit a few coffee shops.' Tánaiste Simon Harris, Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Sean Canney, Independent TD for Galway East, speaking at a press conference for the launch of the Government's Summer Economic Statement and the National Development Plan for the next five years. Pic: Niall Carson/PA Wire Responding to Fine Gael plans to front-load the cuts during Micheál Martin's term as Taoiseach, one Fianna Fáil senior figure warned: '(FG leader) Simon Harris may want to be the new Bertie Ahern but he won't do it at our expense.' In a further indication of the new levels of tension surrounding expenditure, a number of legal challenges are being prepared by representative groups in the education sector should the Coalition fail to adequately fund schools. One education sector source said: 'There is trouble and underspending across the board, from primary education to third level. Serious trouble is coming down the tracks if ministers don't perform. 'We don't do press releases or complaints on the Order of Business. We are going to hold the Government to account over their legal responsibilities and we are prepared to take the legal route to defend the fiscal integrity of schools and the State's legal obligations to deliver appropriate facilities for children.' Taoiseach Micheál Martin. Pic: Sasko Lazarov/ The proposed challenges will increase concerns within the Government that it faces a destabilising summer of internal discontent over fears that Ireland faces its first austerity budget in a decade. One senior Government source said: 'Paschal [Donohoe] and Jack [Chambers] are engaged in a great act in expectation management. There is a great tidying-up process: all the cycle lanes, all that green stuff, we are not wasting that money.' Another senior Government figure added: 'The budget will be factually expansionary, look at the figures. We are, however, laying down the marker in the Summer Economic Statement to stop runaway stories.' However, Cian O'Callaghan, Social Democrats acting leader and finance spokesman said: 'It is clear that after the big giveaway pre-election budgets, citizens are facing difficult times. Cian O'Callaghan, Social Democrats acting leader and finance spokesman. Pic: Gareth Chaney/Collins Photos 'The Government can spin all they want about returning to normality. The truth though is that people experiencing the frontline of the cost-of-living crisis are and will experience the very real return of austerity budgeting.' Despite attempts by Government ministers to calm their TDs, unease remains high within the Government ranks. One Government source said: 'There are billions of one-off payments facing the axe and it is not going to be pretty. 'Look at James Lawless, he let the cat out of the bag too early on third level registration charges and he hasn't been seen since, he has disappeared.' However, a Fine Gael minister said: 'There's no great plot against Fianna Fáil, it is simple logic. When it comes to cutting, do you want to be unpopular now or would you prefer to be unpopular in five years' time. Our friends need to calm down.' Minister of State James Lawless. Pic: Sasko Lazarov/ The pre-budget negotiations could be a chance for Mr Chambers to put himself in position for a future leadership bid. A FF source said: 'There may be a bit of leadership-building going on with Jack [Chambers] as well. At some stage Micheál has to go and let's face it, at 64 he is nearer the end than the beginning.' Another Fine Gael source noted of 34-year-old Mr Chambers: 'He hasn't made too many friends in Fine Gael going around the place being led by the nose by his officials. Even the Tánaiste had to battle for Defence spending.' Unease is also growing within Fianna Fáil with sources speculating that succession factors may be at play when it comes to the vigour with which Mr Chambers is going about his task. The source added: 'There is a bit of an invisible leadership competition building up between Jack and Jim O'Callaghan. Big Jim is going very well at the moment so Jack may be trying to out-do him by generating a reputation as a great reformer of the public finances.'

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store