Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 12 February 2026
63. Deputy Tony McCormack asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the progress that has been made in accelerating the delivery of infrastructure under the National Development Plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10961/26]
View answerMy Department will be managing the monitoring and reporting on delivery of the actions in the Accelerating Infrastructure Report and Action Plan, which will be led within the Infrastructure Division. The report details 30 headline actions for delivery by quarter and set out target outputs and outcomes to be achieved. All lead Departments have been engaged with over January 2026 to provide an update on the delivery of Q4 2025 and Q1 2026 actions and to notify of structural changes within their sectors to aid the delivery of the 30 actions.
All actions required for delivery in 2025 have been completed as of January 2026. Some of the key deliverables include:
Publication of the NDP Review 2025 in July 2025, with the subsequent publication of all NDP Sectoral Plans by mid-January 2026. As committed in the Programme for Government and in the Accelerating Infrastructure Taskforce, a step-change in investment for the Energy, Water and Transport sectors have been approved.
The Sectoral Plans detail over 200 specific projects that will be prioritised, with a particular focus on those projects going to tender or construction within 2026 and 2027. This is with the specific aim of providing construction sector certainty on the pipeline.
Government consultation on the scale of fees for environmental judicial reviews - the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment received Government approval to issue a public consultation on the scale of fees for environmental legal costs, which will in effect limit the cost that the State pays in environmental judicial reviews.
First meeting of New Joint Utilities (electricity and water) and Transport Clearing House, which will ensure a shared understanding and collaboration between the utilities and transport sectors on greater cooperation in infrastructure delivery.
The Minister for Justice brought Heads of Bill to Government to place the judicial review process on a statutory footing. These Heads were published on 6th January 2026.
At this point, good progress is noted for actions required for delivery in Q1 2026, however responsible leads will be contacted regularly to ensure actions remain on track. The following includes some of the progress areas:
• The operation of the public consultation process on proposed scale of fees, which closed on 15 January 2026. The results will be reviewed and published in Q1 2026. The regulations on cost capping are to be drafted and brought before the Oireachtas by end of Q1 2026.
• On the Critical Infrastructure Bill, my Department have commenced the drafting and are engaged with the Office of the Attorney General on a weekly basis. The publication of a general scheme by end-March has been re-confirmed in the Government’s published priority legislative agenda.
• The High-Level Group (HLG) on EU Policy and the European Coordinators Network has been used to monitor legislation or regulations that may impact on infrastructure delivery. The first such discussion took place at a meeting of the HLG on 21 January.
• As committed under Action 23, reforms to the Infrastructure Guidelines were brought for Government approval this week. The key reforms regarding higher thresholds for Major Projects, the discontinuation of the External Assurance Process and the reduced approval requirements prior to issue tender documents (Approval Gate 2).
• Government have approved for an enhanced National Development Finance Agency to support key Exchequer funded projects. There will be a further publication of a Circular, outlining how Departments may avail of this support.
• The meetings of the Joint Utilities and Transport Clearing House will continue in Q1 2026. My Department are engaging with bodies to map structures and identify key specific administrative constraints to effective coordination.
• Further consideration is being given to revised structures within the Construction Sector Group to advise on actions detailed in the December report, including further productivity and innovation within the construction sector and procurement reforms to further enhance the attractiveness of public sector construction.
• My colleague, Minister James Lawless, and his Department have published a critical skills needs assessment for the construction sector with the assistance of Indecon Consultants. The report has key recommendations including an assessment of reforms to apprenticeship programmes, coordination of pipelines and prioritisation of project rollout.
At this point, there are no significant indicators for actions that are off track and sectors are committed to delivering Q1 and Q2 actions as set out in the December report.
In relation to project delivery, Departments have now published sectoral investment plans with greater detail on timelines for tendering and construction. In the past week there has been substantial progress on some of the most critical projects within the NDP with Metrolink (TII), the Greater Dublin Drainage and Water Supply Project (both Uisce Éireann) publishing initial tender documentation.
