The Minister for Finance Brian Cowen said the new National Development Plan (NDP) is a "window of opportunity to address, in current resource terms, infrastructure deficits".
He said that in the next decade it could be too expensive to address current infrastructual deficits in housing and transport.
"In the next decade the cost components of implementing this plan could be beyond our capacity," said Mr Cowen.
Mr Cowen did not appear concerned by suggestions recently by the Economic and Social and Research Institute (ESRI) that the amount of capital investment the Government was planning could fuel inflation.
He said that while in 2002 construction industry inflation had run at 12 per cent, the industry now had better capacity to handle the Government's investment in capital projects.
Implementing agencies such as the National Roads Authority and the Rail Procurement Agency were now well resourced and experienced to deliver the capital programmes and projects in the new plan, he continued.
The Government is "strongly of the view that the quantum of investment required over the period is considerably in excess of that recommended by the ESRI".
"Accordingly, central Government investment under the plan is some €2 billion per annum higher than that recommended by the Institute," said Mr Cowen
He said the decision was based on :
- The need to decisively tackle infrastructure deficits in economic areas such as transport and in social areas such as housing;
- The demographic projections which estimate a population of in excess of 5 million in 2021 with all regions showing significant increases;
- The window of opportunity in resource terms now available and the economic rate of return on infrastructure investment.