The Government has insisted it is under no obligation to accept the recommendations of a new Economic and Social Research Institute report to be published today.
A late draft of the report seen by The Irish Times urges urges a downgrading of major elements of the National Development Plan.
With the Opposition claiming the Government would use the report to justify cutbacks in its infrastructure investment, the Government spokeswoman said last night that no decisions had been taken on any aspect of the report.
Describing it as an advisory document, she said the Government would respond to the ERSI only after the final document was published.
While she acknowledged the Government has specifically asked the ESRI to undertake the mid-term review of the NDP, she emphasised there was no obligation to endorse its conclusions.
Details from the draft report - which called for downgrading of the roads, rail, health and housing elements of the NDP - led the Opposition to claim yesterday that public money had been wasted.
While Fine Gael's finance spokesman, Mr Richard Bruton, supported the findings in relation to infrastructure, the party's health spokeswoman, Ms Olivia Mitchell, said its analysis of the health programme was flawed.
Mr Bruton said it was clear from the report that the Government was guilty of gross incompetence in its management of the NDP. Warning that the taxpayer was getting bad value for money from the plan, he said the ESRI had used "polite" expressions to convey the message that nobody was in charge of, or taking responsibility for, the NDP.
Ms Mitchell said the recommendations on health were short-sighted, ill-conceived and likely to increase pressure on an already strained service. "Public hospitals will be denied the vital additional funds they earn from private patients, and which help keep public beds open and available to non-insured patients," she said.
Labour's finance spokeswoman, Ms Joan Burton, said the report should not be used as an excuse to cut funding for infrastructure. A list of spending cuts would not "solve" infrastructure bottlenecks or address the need for competence in the NDP, she said.
Ms Burton said there was already considerable evidence that the Government failed to manage the NDP. "It is vital therefore that this independent review should lead to rapid reforms in the management and administration by the Government of our public investment programmes."
The Greens welcomed the ESRI's recommendation for a scaling back in the NDP roads programme. The party's transport spokesman, Mr Eamon Ryan, said it was "madness" to build roads of a motorway standard where they would not be required even in 20 years time. "The fact that the ESRI stated that no economic analysis has been offered to justify the design inflation that has occurred is an indictment of both the National Roads Authority and the Cabinet sub-committee on infrastructure."
Sinn Féin's environment spokesman, Mr Arthur Morgan, said the ESRI's call for curbs on expenditure on public housing were "deeply misguided". "There is a massive amount of land zoned for residential use in this State which is undeveloped," he said. "Is the ESRI suggesting that, in order to bring down the price of houses, we abandon those who need state assistance in order to house themselves and their families?"
