Exemptions to some environmental assessments and a planning fast track for key national infrastructure are measures being studied by the Government as it bids to accelerate project delivery.
The Cabinet committee on infrastructure was briefed last week on a review of blockages to delivery of projects and told that, while common-law jurisdictions are being hit hard by delays to infrastructure projects, Ireland is especially vulnerable due to the slow pace of the civil legal system here.
As part of the review, reforms introduced in other countries are being examined, with the Government considering whether legislative steps are needed here.
This comes as the Coalition prepares to unveil its €200 billion National Development Plan (NDP), which was agreed on Monday night when the funding allocation for the Department of Housing was signed off.
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Officials are assessing legislative reforms undertaken in other common-law jurisdictions. The committee was told the California Environmental Quality Act essentially exempts developments on brownfield sites from certain environmental assessments. The committee heard Canada’s One Canada Act enables the fast-tracking of infrastructure deemed to be of national importance.
Infrastructure delivery is a priority for the Government as it seeks to tackle damaging shortfalls in housing in particular. Tánaiste Simon Harris recently told Fine Gael members that “new ways” to better deliver infrastructure are needed, with the current process “taking too long and causing significant problems for the economy and society”.
It is understood that a presentation to the committee from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform outlined changes made in the UK’s planning and infrastructure bill, as well as reforms introduced in New Zealand and Australia.
The committee was told that infrastructure delivery in Ireland is being held back by complex regulatory frameworks that in turn contribute to an increase in High Court judicial reviews, place a burden on the courts and contribute to uncertainty. All of this drives up costs and can lead to years-long delays.
Meanwhile, co-ordination between regulators is lacking and there is duplication between processes, Ministers were told. They were also briefed on issues in procurement, State co-ordination and funding.
[ Ireland’s infrastructure is 32% behind international peers, IMF findsOpens in new window ]
The Cabinet will on Tuesday sign off the NDP, allocating billions to water and grid infrastructure, as well as capital investment in the likes of prisons and sports facilities. There will be more money for defence as well, with increased funding for radar, sonar and protection for Irish troops.
On Monday night talks were continuing in an effort to reach agreement on funding for housing and water projects.
The Government is to allocate an additional €30 billion to its existing capital funding allocation to boost infrastructural development across the economy over the next five years under plans to be unveiled on Tuesday.
The housing and water funding was the final element of the NDP agreed on Monday night, with €40 billion allocated over five years.
Alongside the NDP, the summer economic statement, to be published on Tuesday by Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe, will identify investment in water and energy infrastructure as a key priority for Budget 2026.
Mr Donohoe will announce that the State will continue to put money away in the Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund and the Future Ireland Fund, to protect Ireland from external shocks, and in anticipation of the increased costs of an ageing society. Mr Harris will tell Cabinet that this year’s summer statement differs from previous ones due to the threat of significant US tariffs. He will say that budget decisions have to focus on jobs and investment amid “considerable uncertainty” in EU-US trade talks.
