Last week, the Government published the Accelerating Infrastructure Report and Action Plan. This is a comprehensive programme of actions designed to speed up the delivery of critical infrastructure across the State. This Action Plan responds to well-documented challenges of lengthy development timelines, fragmented processes, and rising costs. These have all been identified as major barriers to achieving Ireland’s housing, energy, and climate objectives.
The report is evidence-based. It has been built on the research and analysis of my Department, the views received during the public consultation and stakeholder engagement undertaken by my Department over the summer, and the expert input and advice from the members of the Accelerating Infrastructure Taskforce.
There will be robust oversight of the achievement of these targets. Each sub-action within the Plan has been assigned to a specific body or number of bodies with a specific timeline attached to every sub-action. These named bodies will hold primary responsibility for the implementation of the action in question.
Regular reporting will underpin accountability, with Departments and Agencies providing updates to my Department on the progression of actions. The Accelerating Infrastructure Taskforce will meet monthly to review progress and highlight any delays to implementation of actions. Regular progress updates will also be provided to the Senior Officials Group on Infrastructure and to the Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure.
I note that both the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General and the Public Accounts Committee are independent of Government in the performance of their duties and in the determination of what they examine. Similarly, as an independent body, the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council may report on any aspect of Government financial practices it so chooses.
