Critical Infrastructure Bill 2026: Report and Final Stages
Dail Éireann — 2026-05-13
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Peadar Tóibín (AON), Meath West

After listening to Deputy Boyd Barrett, I might misquote St. Augustine: "Lord, make me an ecosocialist, but not if the turbines are in my constituency". I think it is a good quote for that. I have a question for the Minister. I do not think this is in the Bill, but he might be able to clear it up. Can this particular Bill affect any project that has already gone through planning in terms of any conditions that have been assigned to the planning application of an existing project? The Minister might be able to think about that and answer it, if he can, on the record. That is important because if there are existing projects that have gone through existing planning and have conditions attached to them, they should not be reopened. The conditions should be applied properly, etc., on that.
In terms of what Deputy Cathal Crowe was saying about Ardnacrusha, the Navan to Dublin rail line was built in the 1860s in three years with picks and shovels. As I said, it has already been waiting 40 years from announcement to completion on it. I was in Deputy Crowe's constituency of Clare on Monday meeting people in Broadford, Ennis and Kilrush. The N68 is the main road between Ennis and Kilrush. It is a dangerous road. It is a very narrow road that is a 45-minute drive. It is the main access route to the west of County Clare. It is wide open for accidents and difficulties and, again, it is one of those projects that have been crying out for investment for a long period of time.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-05-13/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-14T01:01:03+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-13