Critical Infrastructure Bill 2026: Second Stage Seanad Éireann — 2026-05-20 ============================================================ Fiona O'Loughlin (FF), Administrative Panel The Minister is very welcome to the Chamber. I thank him for the vision and ambition he has shown in relation to this Bill and for bringing it before us. As my good colleague Senator Davitt has said, following up on that vision and ambition is really about collaboration and implementation. It is really important that we address the infrastructure deficit, particularly in areas where the population is growing. The Minister will have noticed that the latest statistics show that the county whose population has grown the most since the 1926 census is by far Kildare, with its population having grown by 326% in that period of time. Our infrastructure has not kept up at all. While the Minister is looking at the main areas of energy, transport and water, all of which are incredibly and hugely important, we also need to add education to that list at times. In Newbridge, the Curragh, Kildare and the surrounding areas, we do not have enough primary school or secondary school places. About three years ago, there was a contract to purchase a site for a new secondary school to address that demand and to replace the present ETB school, Curragh Community College. It appears that contract to buy the site now needs to be amended. It is a real concern. With regard to the other areas, I appreciate that it is the government of the day that will designate the projects. However, at this point in time, I am going to be parochial and mention the projects I would like to see designated within the areas of energy, transport and water. With particular regard to transport, Members here will have heard me speak about the need for a second bridge in Newbridge. I have no doubt the Minister has heard me speaking about this as well. It is only 25% of the outer orbital ring road in Newbridge. We do not need an incredible amount of money. It is actually getting close to tender stage. We will possibly need around €10 million. This bridge would make a huge difference. There are five schools in the vicinity of the existing bridge. People are often delayed by up to 30 minutes during peak traffic times. Newbridge is a growing town with a huge population. It is a good commuter town but, when you have to drive through the town to get to the train station or to get on the Dublin road, it takes away from your quality of life. We are all trying to ensure that people have a good quality of life, wherever they live. That is one of the projects I would particularly like to see fast-tracked. It is important and essential to the economic and social development of the town of Newbridge. I will mention another area. North-west Kildare has huge problems with energy and water outages. I refer to the area of Rathangan, Allenwood, Robertstown and Kilmeage. There are disruptions practically every week. The ESB has spoken about building a new power station, the Blake station, which would serve the north-west area. It has also spoken about a new station for east Newbridge and upgrading the present Newbridge station. It is essential that these projects are delivered as quickly as possible. I 100% support this Bill, as do our spokesperson on infrastructure and all Fianna Fáil Members. It is innovative legislation. It is really important and will make a huge difference as we get projects done. I thank the Minister for taking the time to listen to me talk about the projects I wanted to highlight and that should be delivered for the people of south Kildare. --- 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/2026-05-20/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:58+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-05-20