The Fine Gael leader, Mr John Bruton, said the plan was based on "benign economic assumptions" and does not make any provision for a downturn in the economy, and he criticised the lack of consultation in its preparation.
"Fine Gael was not consulted about and had no involvement in the preparation of the National Development Plan," he said. "The party will now conduct a consultation process throughout the country comparing Fine Gael's Plan for the Nation and the Government's plan. We will be updating our own plan in light of that consultation process."
The Fine Gael leader said the Government's plan contained no method of reducing traffic congestion and was "a plan for roads rather than public transport". He said it was "a plan for those who can already afford housing rather than those who cannot. It is a plan for bricks and mortar, not for services and improving the quality of life".
The Labour Party spokesman on finance, Mr Derek McDowell, said no Government in the State's history had been in such a fortunate position when drawing up a national development plan. He also criticised the lack of consultation on the proposals. "It has been at one level shrouded in secrecy, with neither the public, the social partners nor the Opposition given any real opportunity to input into it. On the other hand it has been selectively leaked to the media for a number of months now in an effort to generate coverage for the Government. Hopefully, in future we will have the maturity to debate important issues like this in the public domain."
He said that many of the projects announced had obviously been sitting on the Government's shelf for some time. "Where is the commitment to new national railways, the rail link to Dublin airport, public transport in Dublin? It is instructive that investment in public transport remains considerably behind investment in roads." He said that while £50 million for the development of services for Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford would be welcomed, it was not "the radical upgrading in services the people in these areas deserved".
Mr McDowell welcomed the allocation of funding to social housing, environmental sustainability, waste management and childcare. He also welcomed the allocation to training and employment measures but hoped that the private sector, already beneficiaries of the lowest corporation tax regime in Europe, would also be making a sizeable contribution in this area.
Green Party TD Mr Trevor Sargent said the plan placed too heavy an emphasis on roadbuilding at the expense of a "coherent national public transport infrastructure". He added that although the public transport versus roads ratio "is better than in the past, there is still more than double going on roads than on public transport".
He said the reality for public transport was that the rail infrastructure would only be upgraded rather than developed. "There are no new rail lines planned so this is really a case of `too little too late'. "