Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 28 May 2026
37. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation if he will report on the progress being made under Pillar I of the Accelerating Infrastructure Plan. [40320/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Accelerating Infrastructure Report and Action Plan was published last December. It sets out 30 targeted actions grouped under four pillars, each addressing a key area of reform.
Pillar 1 of the Plan address legal reform. Ireland’s legal system is widely considered to be effective and fair. However, an increasingly reliance on the courts to review regulatory and planning decisions has the practical impact of delaying the development of critical infrastructure. This imposes very real costs on taxpayers and society in general.
Pillar 1 sets out 7 actions on a series of reforms that will be progressed by Government to address incentives that drive increased usage of the courts and will provide new channels through which critical infrastructure can be accelerated.
All of the commitments under these actions for completion in Q1 of 2026 have been delivered. This includes new regulations to cap the legal fees payable by the State in environmental judicial review( S.I. No. 200/2026), the publication and progression of the Critical Infrastructure Bill, the creation of a legislative working group to identify overly burdensome regulation and the issuing of Circular 16 of 2026, which creates a mechanism that will allow Government to respond more rapidly to any court precedents that may effect infrastructure delivery.
