Accelerating Infrastructure Action Plan: Motion Seanad Éireann — 2026-03-04 ============================================================ Joanne Collins (SF), Agricultural Panel I welcome the publication of the Government's Accelerating Infrastructure Report and Action Plan. It is important that the Government has finally acknowledged what communities across this country have known for years, namely that the delays in delivering water, energy and transport infrastructure are structural constraints on housing, economic growth and balanced regional development. While that acknowledgement is welcome, it is long overdue. The motion recognises that Ireland is investing unprecedented levels of capital funding under the national development plan. Even though funding is important, however, we have to be honest and say that the problem up to now has not solely been about money. We have had plans, strategies and announcements for years. What is missing is delivery on the ground, particularly outside Dublin. The action plan refers to improving co-ordination between State agencies. Again, that sounds very positive, but co-ordination cannot simply mean more inter-agency meetings or revised governance charts; it must mean clear lines of accountability. When a wastewater plant is delayed, when a grid connection stalls or when transport projects slip for years, who is responsible and what are the consequences? The motion also welcomes streamlining decision-making and reducing duplication in consenting processes. All of this is good. We should absolutely remove inefficiencies and end unnecessary sequencing of applications, but we must be careful not to frame this solely as a planning problem. Many delays stem from poor upfront project preparation, under-resourced agencies and a lack of delivery capacity in the system in the context of planning, engineering and construction. If we are serious about acceleration, we must invest not just in projects but also in the people, namely planners, engineers, the legal expertise and project managers needed by local authorities and State bodies. Without that capacity, legislative reform will not deliver the results we need. Most importantly, if balanced regional development is to mean anything, it must shape the order in which projects are prioritised. In counties like Limerick and across the mid-west, housing is being held back because enabling infrastructure is not in place. I have raised in the House a few times how in Newcastle West, the county town of Limerick, no more houses can be built because the infrastructure is just not there at the treatment plant. I believe 2031 is the next year in which we will get a connection to the treatment plant, which is absolute madness for the only tier 2 town in the county. Towns are zoned in the context of growth but they lack wastewater capacity. Businesses are ready to expand but cannot secure energy connections. Communities are promised transport upgrades, but these remain years away. The M20 is a clear example. We have been waiting over 20 years for the Limerick to Cork motorway, with accidents occurring every year on the existing road. We say that one accident is one too many or that one fatality is one too many. The number of accidents on the M20 is disgraceful. We need to get that project moving fast. While I welcome the recognition that infrastructure delays are constraining regional development, I question whether this plan goes far enough in guaranteeing that acceleration will be felt in the regions first and not last. What do we need? We need infrastructure-led housing delivery where investment in water and energy is sequenced ahead of demand. We need transparent region-by-region reporting to the Oireachtas in order that we can track where projects are progressing and where they are stalling. We need genuine empowerment of our local authorities, with resources and powers to drive delivery rather than waiting for sign-off. We need a clear commitment that balanced regional development is not just referenced in our policy documents; it has to be embedded in capital prioritisation. Communities will not judge this plan on the basis of the language it contains. They will judge it on whether homes are built, whether businesses can connect to the grid and whether young people can see a future in their own communities. Acceleration must not simply mean faster delivery in already developed areas; it must mean unlocking the potential of regions that have waited too long. As my colleagues across the floor said, this is not about accelerating development in cities that are already over-expanded; it is about looking at new areas where there is potential to expand outside the cities and allow people to live where they want to live. If this action plan can achieve that, it will be worthwhile, but that will require not just reform on paper, it will require political will, regional prioritisation, and accountability in practice. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-03-04/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:43+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-03-04