The Critical Infrastructure Bill is a central pillar of the Government’s broader infrastructure acceleration agenda. The need for a Bill to fast track a limited number of strategically important projects through approval processes was identified in the Accelerating Infrastructure Report and Action published last December.
The Bill has been drafted and introduced on a priority basis to respond to this need. Its primary aim is to allow Government to designate certain projects or programmes as critical. This then requires all public bodies who may have an authorisation function for these projects or programmes to prioritise consideration of them within their approval processes.
In practical terms, this means that relevant bodies will be required to prioritise, avoid delay, reduce timelines, parallel processes and cooperate with each other to fast-track designated infrastructure.
Section 3 of the draft Bill deals with the designation process. The text of the Bill has been published in full along with an explanatory memorandum. This section of the Bill allows the Minister for Public Expenditure to make a recommendation to Government that a designation order be made in respect of a project or programme. It also provides for democratic accountability by allowing the Dáil to annul any order laid before it designating a project or programme.
I have consistently stated in the Oireachtas that the designation process will not commence until after the Bill's enactment. After enactment, my focus will be on recommending a small number of critical projects or programmes. I will prioritise those projects or programmes that will facilitate the acceleration of infrastructure across the energy, transport and water sectors, with a particular focus on infrastructure that will support housing.
