Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 7 July 2026
295. Deputy John Connolly asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation if the Government will designate phase 1 of the University Hospital Galway redevelopment as critical as per the terms of the Critical Infrastructure Act 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51823/26]
View answerThe Critical Infrastructure Act 2026 provides a statutory basis for the acceleration of decision-making around projects and programmes that are designated as critical infrastructure. The Act requires that all reasonable steps be taken by public bodies, both individually and collectively, to progress any functions they may have in relation to these projects and programmes as quickly as possible.
Section 1 of the Act specifically highlights transport, energy and water infrastructure in the definition of infrastructure but does not limit the potential to include other infrastructure should it be considered necessary. Any designation will also have to be compatible with the criteria outlined in Section 3 of the Act that I may have regard to before I make a recommendation on designation to Government.
I have not yet made any recommendation to Government on the specific projects or programmes that the Government should designate as critical. When I bring an initial recommendation to Government my focus will be on a small number of critical projects or programmes in the energy, transport and water sectors, with a particular focus on those projects that will benefit the most from an immediate designation.
In parallel, an enduring approach is also being developed to provide for the ongoing designation of projects or programmes to maintain a pipeline of critical infrastructure that will move through the fast track system over time.
It is also worth noting that this Act is just one of the means being pursued to accelerate the provision of infrastructure. In the Accelerating Infrastructure Report and Action Plan, 30 actions were identified to address the 12 barriers to infrastructure delivery identified through my Department’s extensive stakeholder engagement.
I, my Department and the whole of Government continue to implement these actions and it is only by pressing forward on all of these fronts can the required scale of transformation in infrastructure delivery be achieved.
