Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 12 February 2026
75. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation to provide an update on the implementation of the ‘Accelerating Infrastructure-Report and Action Plan’; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10963/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn December the Government published the Accelerating Infrastructure Report and Action Plan. This is a comprehensive programme of actions designed to speed up the delivery of critical infrastructure across the State. This Action Plan responds to well-documented challenges of lengthy development timelines, fragmented processes, and rising costs. These have all been identified as major barriers to achieving Ireland’s housing, energy, and climate objectives.
The Plan sets out 30 targeted actions grouped under four pillars, each addressing a key area of reform.
Under the Legislative Reform pillar, tasks completed to date include the consultation of Government 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 closed on 15 January 2026. The results of this consultation will be reviewed and published in Q1 2026 and the regulations on cost capping are to be drafted and brought before the Oireachtas by end of Q1 2026.
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.
The Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment have committed to draft primary legislation allowing privately owned grid wires in Q1 2026. This action is slated for completion in Q3 2027, however this schedule is strongly dependant on the timing of the legislation moving through the Oireachtas.
On the Critical Infrastructure Bill, my Department has commenced the drafting process 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.
In terms of Regulatory Reform, a Memo will be brought to the Government shortly regarding the establishment of a Regulatory Simplification Unit in my Department and the key elements of the Unit’s work, which will focus on reviewing regulatory structures, governance, oversight and accountability and identifying and revising legislation to simplify statutes.
Under the Delivery and Coordination pillar, reforms to the Infrastructure Guidelines are being prepared and will be brought for Government approval in February. The key reforms regarding higher thresholds for Major Projects, the discontinuation of the External Assurance Process and the reduced approval requirements at Approval Gate 2 can be given immediate effect through the issuance of a Circular.
All NDP Sectoral Plans have been published. The 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 with the specific aim of providing construction sector certainty on the pipeline.
I have launched a new Government service to accelerate major Government capital investment projects by utilising the expertise of the NDFA. Through this service, the NDFA will offer direct support and assistance to all Departments at every stage of the development process of major capital projects.
I chaired the first meeting of the 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 initial discussion centred around setting out the terms of reference and the workplan of the group, which will involve identifying and resolving relevant process bottlenecks in infrastructure delivery.
To conclude, 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.
