There are ambitious plans for public capital investment in the National Development Plan (NDP), with serious doubts that the major projects can be delivered on budget, or at all. This is due only in part to construction cost inflation – when the construction cost index was flat, there were substantial overshoots on estimated costs for many projects.

Unless you believe that public capital resources are unlimited, overshoots on big projects mean cutbacks and postponements elsewhere.

Money gets wasted on public capital projects because there is no consistent enforcement of a value-for-money ethos.

The public spending code supposedly ensures that cost estimates are soundly-based and that the projects selected offer genuine benefits that exceed the costs.

But the code exists only on paper and the bill for some large projects has ended up twice or three times the figure on which initial Government go-ahead was granted.

Approval without credible cost estimates is promoted by vested interests, including public bodies, through PR campaigns and spurious cost-benefit studies.

Recent examples include the National Broadband Plan, the National Maternity Hospital and the National Children’s Hospital. Contrary to explicit requirements in the public spending code, projects get the go-ahead prior to approval of the business case, or, in some recent cases, prior even to its completion.

If you are promoting a capital project where the Exchequer is to pay, the first step is the creation of a political head of steam, ideally a Government commitment to the uncosted project, instantly welcomed by lobby groups and by opposition politicians.

The formal procedures for the evaluation of capital projects, enshrined in the public spending code and overseen by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, were first formalised in Department of Finance Circular No 1 of 1983, following the report completed the previous year by the Working Group on Cost Over-runs on Public Construction Contracts.

The group had been established in December 1981 by then Minister for Finance, and regular Irish Farmers Journal contributor, John Bruton.

The minister had become alarmed, 40 years ago, at the scale and frequency of cost overshoots on capital projects. The recommendations in this long-ago report included the following: “The design of a project should be complete to the greatest possible extent before tenders are sought.”

Several of the overshoot scandals of the time had arisen because this common sense procedure had not been followed. It is not being followed today, four decades later, especially for the very large once-off projects, in the billion-plus bracket.

Those charged with oversight have chalked up only rare successes in stopping the money-wasting.

Why build stadiums for tournaments that last a few weeks? Would you build a cinema to show films for just a few nights?

It has been reported that the Government declined the opportunity to spend a possible €180m on hosting a yacht race in Cork, apparently on advice from officials in the Department of Sport. The same officials should worry about other potential calls on the sports capital programme in the years ahead.

Every GAA county board appears to have a stadium expansion plan. There are 32 counties when it comes to capital expenditure, since Casement Park, located in the UK last time I checked, was mentioned by Minister Jack Chambers as a potential beneficiary should Ireland be unfortunate enough to end up hosting the 2028 Euro soccer tournament. Why build stadiums for tournaments that last a few weeks? Would you build a cinema to show films for just a few nights?

There are four popular League of Ireland soccer teams in Dublin. Only Shamrock Rovers, thanks to South Dublin County Council, have a modern home ground, Tallaght Stadium, built at modest cost on a greenfield site and due to be completed to 10,000 seats later this year.

Tallaght also hosts the Irish women’s international team and some of the underage teams, to a total of 30 or more match days per season. Some of the GAA county grounds have a handful of busy days per annum.

The minister needs a national policy framework for building, and sharing, stadiums, including GAA stadiums

The three remaining Dublin soccer clubs, Bohemians, Shelbourne and St Pats, play in Victorian-era stadiums with capacity restricted by the health and safety people to 4,000 or 5,000 spectators.

All three want to build new facilities on the existing cramped brownfield sites.

The most advanced project is for Dalymount, home of Bohemians, a well-run club which, like the other two, has had to turn paying customers away this season. But the cost estimate of €32m for just 6,000 seats may be too low, according to the city manager (Dublin City Council owns the site).

Shels and Pats want to rebuild their stadiums but no cost estimates are available while the RDS has plans for its arena in Ballsbridge, used infrequently by the Leinster rugby team and once a year for the Horse Show.

The minister needs a national policy framework for building, and sharing, stadiums, including GAA stadiums. They cannot all be upgraded on the Exchequer’s tab.