Taoiseach Brian Cowen has said the Government's revised €39bn capital investment programme will lead to 270,000 jobs being provided between now and 2016.
However, overall spending on infrastructure is being cut by up to 40% compared to the 2007 National Development Plan - Taoiseach Brian Cowen has admitted the money just is not available.
He said the revised plan was about getting the 'best bang for our buck'.
Nevertheless the €39bn will be spent on a range of projects that the Government hopes will create 270,000 jobs, directly and indirectly.
The Government estimates that up to 12 jobs will be supported for every €1m spent.
Announcing the plan today, the Taoiseach confirmed that Metro North and the €2.5bn Dart Underground will go ahead.
But rail links from Dublin to Navan and the western rail corridor from Tuam to Claremorris have been put on hold.
The Dublin Institute of Technology is to be re-located to a new campus. That will cost an initial €30m.
Housing regeneration projects in Limerick and Ballymun will also continue and ghost estates are to be leased out for social housing.
There will be more capital investment in water services, housing, energy and broadband.
The Taoiseach said that proportionately it was one of the highest spends on capital in the EU.
However, he acknowledged that some of the cuts could be as much as 50% when compared to the original forecast under the 2007 National Development Plan.
In an interview on RTÉ's Six-One News, Mr Cowen pointed out that the NDP's expenditure plans were drawn up when forecasts for Ireland said the economy would expand by 4.5% per annum.
Business and employers group IBEC welcomed today's announcement:
IBEC Director Brendan Butler said: 'It is now vital that Government departments and agencies get this funding flowing through the economy as quickly as possible.
'We need to ensure that a sensible approach is taken to planning issues and that unreasonable delays do not threaten the delivery of much needed infrastructure and employment.'
The Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed has said that the priority of the Government's infrastructure investment programme must be to get as many people back to work as soon as possible, particularly in labour intensive industries.
General Secretary John Stewart said there was a huge need for employment creation in construction due to the large numbers who had lost their jobs in that sector.
However, he also stressed the importance of up-skilling and retraining of unemployed people to improve their chances of getting work in different sectors.
Fine Gael has claimed that the spending plans represent a 45% reduction on what the Government had committed to spending between 2011 and 2013 in the original National Development Plan.
Fine Gael Finance Spokesman Michael Noonan said the reduction in spending was 'extremely disappointing'.
Mr Noonan added: 'This reduction will have a profound effect on economic activity and on job creation.'
Fine Gael Enterprise Spokesman Richard Bruton said the Government would be spending €14bn less than originally planned, which according to ESRI estimates would mean 140,000 fewer jobs in the construction phase alone.
Mr Bruton said cuts in capital spending undermined the future capacity of the economy and accused the Government of getting the balance wrong in its cuts.
