Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 17 June 2026
10. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the steps that can be taken to clarify the regulatory requirements for the Renard slipway project; the way in which the approval process can be streamlined for similar infrastructure developments to avoid unnecessary delays; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46004/26]
View answerMy colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform, and Digitalisation, Jack Chambers, TD, established the Accelerating Infrastructure Taskforce in May 2025 as a non-statutory Taskforce to support the delivery of infrastructure functions and to unblock barriers and accelerate infrastructure delivery.
The Accelerating Infrastructure Report and Action Plan, published in December 2025, provides a comprehensive roadmap designed to speed up the delivery of essential infrastructure projects.
The Plan sets out 30 headline actions, grouped into 4 key pillars, namely Legal Reform, Regulatory and Simplification, Coordination and Delivery Reform, and Public Acceptance.
The second pillar, Regulatory simplification, requires regulatory bodies to introduce reforms to the way they fulfil their mandate by requiring the relevant agencies to reform processes applied to Critical Infrastructure within their remit.
The Accelerating Infrastructure Taskforce has developed an Action plan which assigns actions to the various stakeholders. Action 11.6 requires that MARA must provide an update on regulatory simplification to Government every quarter, with a full report to be included in every Annual Report.
MARA’s Quarter 1 update outlines the following completed actions:
• Rationalisation of Maritime Usage Licence (MUL) Assessment documents.
• Operationalising the Maritime Area Viewer for digital maps across MARA directorates.
• Local Authority and Uisce Éireann as Fit & Proper for Maritime Area Consents.
• Roll of triage process for MULs (initial assessment phase).
Any queries in relation to the Renard application should be directed to MARA at oireachtas@mara.gov.ie.
