The Government has rescheduled major parts of its decentralisation programme as part of its revised capital investment plan unveiled this afternoon.
Under the programme €40 billion will be spent over the next 5 years.
It will see a shift away from spending on roads in favour of public transport and a considerable investment in water infrastructure and school building.
The plan will fund the move by Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) to a new site at Grangegorman and will also allow for the construction of Metro North.
The government estimates that 30,000 jobs will be supported by its plan.
The Taoiseach Brian Cowen says the plan will help to reposition the economy for growth.
“This investment programme is all about jobs and a sustainable economic future for our children” he said.
“We’ve identified those areas which will make the greatest contribution to improve competitiveness, to productivity growth and to job creation”.
“We’re focusing on investments which will help create sustainable jobs, by shifting resources to areas which will help Irish companies grow and will also attract more foreign investment” he added.
Among the key allocations are:
€4.21 billion for education
€2.89 billion for health
€3.69 billion for enterprise
€5.77 billion for public transport
€5.97 billion for roads
€3.66 billion for environmental services
The full speech by Taoiseach Brian Cowen can be read here
