Dublin: The Irish Government is set to publish a landmark policy document, the Accelerating Infrastructure Action Plan, this morning. This major initiative aims to significantly speed up the delivery of critical national projects across housing, roads, water, and energy infrastructure.
The plan, formulated by the Accelerating Infrastructure Taskforce chaired by Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers, includes 30 specific, time-bound actions intended to overcome entrenched delays.
Legal and Regulatory Overhaul
Central to the report is a comprehensive overhaul of the legal and regulatory framework to enhance project delivery:
- Emergency Legislative Powers: The plan introduces new legislation granting emergency powers to fast-track major capital projects deemed in the national interest and remove regulatory bottlenecks.
- Judicial Review Reforms: The Government is prioritizing reforms to the judicial review process, which has notably delayed projects like the Greater Dublin Drainage scheme and the capital’s Metro link. Key measures include:
- Narrowing Legal ‘Standing’: Restricting who can initiate a judicial review, potentially prioritizing parties directly affected by the project.
- Success Assessment: Mandating a new, preliminary assessment of the likelihood of success before granting leave for a judicial review to proceed.
- Tackling Litigation Costs: Reviewing fee structures, including the “no foal, no fee” arrangements, to address the financial mechanisms of legal challenges.
- Mandatory Co-operation Duty: State bodies, government departments, and local authorities will be placed under a new statutory duty to co-operate in making land available for essential water, energy, and transport projects. Failure to comply could result in sanctions and impact future funding allocations.
Minister Chambers has been vocal about the “huge levels of frustration” caused by infrastructure paralysis, criticizing the “weaponisation” of judicial reviews and stressing that rebalancing the process is essential for the common good and safeguarding Ireland’s economic competitiveness.
Focus on Supports for Older Citizens’ Housing
In a separate development, a recent Red C survey for Sage Advocacy highlighted that 90% of respondents believe the Government’s housing strategy must incorporate supports enabling older people to age in their own homes.
Mark Mellett, Chairman of Sage Advocacy, noted on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland that despite individuals over 60 constituting approximately 20% of the population, the Government’s 108-page housing plan dedicates only about one page to their care, arguing that their needs are “really not adequately addressed.”
