Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 16 April 2026
210. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the way in which he justifies the decision to exempt the Critical Infrastructure Bill 2026 from pre-legislative scrutiny; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27726/26]
View answerI sought and was granted an exemption from Pre-Legislative Scrutiny for the Critical Infrastructure Bill 2026 from the Select Committee on Infrastructure and National Development Plan Delivery. The decision to seek this exemption was not taken lightly.
The need for a Bill of this nature was identified in the Accelerating Infrastructure Report and Action Plan. Its genesis is thoroughly grounded in the extensive research conducted for that report, including an in-depth public consultation with stakeholders on how infrastructure can be accelerated and views from infrastructure experts such as the Accelerating Infrastructure Taskforce.
The Accelerating Infrastructure Report and Action Plan set a ambitions timeline of Quarter 1 this year to draft and publish this legislation. This timeline was set because it is of overriding public interest that we find a means of accelerating certain critical projects and programmes that are fundamental to our provision of social and economic infrastructure, including housing. To achieve this, it was necessary to proceed to drafting and publishing this Bill at the earliest possible opportunity.
The Select Committee’s decision to waive pre-legislative scrutiny has facilitated this process. It is my belief that we will be able to have a thorough and robust discussion on this legislation at Committee Stage.
