What benefits will we reap from the National Development Plan, asks John Downes.

Here's an idea: turn to the person next to you in class and say the word LUAS. Now note down their reaction.

Almost inevitably, words like "delay", "frustration" and the "Red Cow roundabout" come to the fore. As part of the National Development Plan (NDP) 2000-2006, LUAS has achieved plenty of headlines in recent years, often for the wrong reasons.

Yet the NDP covers far more than simply those projects that make nationwide news. While LUAS may, in time, come to be seen as a project that was worth the disruption and expense it entailed, it is important to remember there are very many other programmes covered by the NDP.

From road-building to childcare initiatives, research and development to the Dublin Port Tunnel, the NDP has a huge remit - and a €57 billion budget to match.

So what is the NDP? And what will it have achieved by the time it is completed in 2006?

"The NDP is an investment plan for infrastructure, human resources and support for the productive sector," explains a spokesman for the NDP.

"It is partly co-funded by the EU. It is a much bigger plan than in previous years - the previous plan was only about €20 billion.

"What is significant is that about 50 per cent of the funding for previous plans came from the EU, whereas only about 10 per cent comes from such funds under the NDP. We are gradually being weaned off structural funds, which is maybe part of the transition whereby member-states should be less reliant on structural funds."

The initial planning of the NDP necessitated intensive consultation. This involved submissions from Government Departments, the social partners and the regional authorities, as well as input from the European Commission and the Northern Ireland authorities.

It has certain basic strategic objectives: to continue sustainable national economic and employment growth; to strengthen and improve Ireland's international competitiveness; to encourage balanced regional development; and to promote social inclusion.

One way this is achieved is through the NDP's three main national programmes, which deal with economic and social infrastructure, employment and human resources development, and the productive sector.

So what do these major components of the NDP involve?

Well, more than half of total NDP expenditure will be devoted to the economic and social infrastructure aspect. The main focus of this expenditure is on transport infrastructure, including road, rail and bus; environmental services, including water, sewerage and waste management; and housing and health infrastructure.

The employment and human resources aspect of the NDP, however, focuses on improving employability (through an action programme for the long-term unemployed, for example); developing entrepreneurship; promoting adaptability through back-to-work and back-to-education schemes; and by the provision of equal opportunities for minority groups.

The productive sector programme focuses on areas such as research, technological development and innovation (RTDI); support for indigenous industry; and the development of foreign direct investment.

There are also two regional infrastructure programmes, which operate in tandem with the inter-regional programmes. These focus investment on areas such as non-national roads, rural water, waste management, urban and village renewal, communications and culture, and sport and recreation.

As we have seen, the NDP involves huge sums of money. As a result, how this money is being spent is an important consideration.

Under the Community Support Framework (CSF), which is a legal agreement between the EU and the Government, the total amount of EU structural and cohesion funds available to the Republic over the term of the NDP is approximately €3.8 billion.

Since the NDP is co-financed by EU structural funds, evaluation to ensure the best possible return to the resources committed is a key requirement.

To this end, an NDP and CSF evaluation unit commissions evaluations of the programmes involved. It also provides advice and assistance to the European Commission, Government Departments and other bodies on how to monitor and evaluate programmes.

There are five key questions asked when evaluating the success of the NDP. These include questions about the rationale or justification for NDP programmes: how effective they are (i.e. are they meeting their targets?); how relevant and efficient the programmes are; and what impact the programmes have had.

So what will the NDP have achieved by the time it is completed in 2006?

"If you didn't have the NDP, it is important to point out that we would still be doing some of the things it covers," according to the NDP spokesman.

"But we'll be regionally more integrated. I think the roads programme is very important in this, as most of our goods are moved by road.

"We will also have an improved public transport system.

"You will also have a cleaner environment (for example, cleaner beaches), better research facilities, improved hospital facilities, more publicly built houses, a wider spread of broadband throughout the country and support for development will have improved locally," the spokesman believes.

While these may seem like ambitious claims, they perhaps represent a return that is only to be expected given the significant financial outlay the NDP has required.