Critical Infrastructure Bill 2026: Second Stage
Dail Éireann — 2026-04-14
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Jack Chambers (FF), Dublin West

Fair play to Deputy Ó Murchú. He always gets a lot in during the few minutes. I thank all Members of the House for their contributions to this evening's debate. We look forward to further engagement on the Bill as it progresses to Committee Stage. It is clear from the broader contributions that there is a consensus on the need to really reform how we deliver infrastructure. As I said at the outset, the publication of the Bill achieves one of the many actions in the Accelerating Infrastructure report. Really it is about the cumulative implementation of this, which will drive a much quicker and transformative approach to accelerating infrastructure.
I have set out why radical change is necessary. We have a persistent infrastructure deficit, the consequences of which we in this House have to deal with and which are articulated by Members daily. Without radical reform we simply will not close the gap, leaving our people stuck in traffic and with too few homes to house our population, and build the infrastructure to bridge and affirm the wider ambition we have for economic and social infrastructure for the State.
The Critical Infrastructure Bill places obligations on the Government. It requires us to take hard decisions about prioritisation and to identify a small number of those projects or programmes that are fundamental to everything else we wish to achieve. Others have said that and Deputy Fitzmaurice mentioned it. Water, energy and transport systems are the foundations that drive overall delivery and economic development, whether it is in housing or other areas. By doing this we send a clear and unambiguous signal to the entire system that the projects and programmes are of strategic importance and in the public interest. It allows public bodies to reallocate the resources necessary to prioritise the consideration of these projects. The net effect of this should be a significant acceleration of these critical projects and programmes. This will in turn enable the acceleration of all other economic and social infrastructure necessary for society to thrive.
The Bill is short and carefully targeted legislation. It does not reference specific projects. It will provide the Government with the statutory power to designate projects or programmes as critical infrastructure by order. We have had some questions about whether it is all projects, public and private. It is clear in the definition of a project in the Bill that it is a project the purpose of which is the delivery of infrastructure and that is funded by capital investment by or on behalf of the State or by or on behalf of a public body. I think that clarifies this matter, which was raised by Deputies. Any such order will be laid before Dáil Éireann, and if a resolution annulling the order is passed by Dáil Éireann within the next 21 days on which Dáil Éireann has sat after the order has been laid, it can be annulled accordingly. The Government will consider specific projects or programmes that may be designated as critical infrastructure following my written recommendation.
It is important to consider that the process of designating projects can only work if restraint is exercised in the designation. Designating too many projects will not allow the licensing, consenting and planning bodies to effectively prioritise. It is intended that the process of identifying which projects or programmes are designated and subject to accelerated consideration will commence quickly after the Bill has been enacted. Once the Government has designated a project or programme, every public body that is involved in a licence, consent or permission associated with the critical infrastructure will be required to prioritise, avoid delay, reduce timelines, parallel processes and co-operate to fast-track critical infrastructure through their existing processes. It also allows and mandates whole-of-state co-operation and ensures critical projects and programmes receive co-ordinated attention across Departments, regulators and agencies. Establishing a clear legal basis for this prioritisation ensures that it receives the fast and co-ordinated attention across the system. The legislation gives the Minister power to issue a direction to any of the public bodies involved in the process, and this will be used to drive improved timelines and performance and, if necessary, mandate all public bodies to take the necessary steps to accelerate their processes.
Deputies will be aware, and it was mentioned by a number of Deputies, that I was granted exemption from pre-legislative scrutiny, but this request was not made lightly. We have set an ambitious timeline for implementation because we want to drive delivery and it is in the overriding public interest that we find the means of accelerating certain critical projects and programmes that are fundamental to our provision of social and economic infrastructure. This is why the waiving of pre-legislative scrutiny is important in that context. I value and welcome a thorough and robust discussion on the legislation at the committee as well. I will engage constructively with all Deputies on that to get this right. It has been argued by some in this House, and there were many mentions here, that the solution to delays is more resourcing or staffing for public bodies. In fact, that is not the issue in many instances. An Coimisiún Pleanála has almost doubled its staffing in the last ten years while staffing in the Environmental Protection Agency is up nearly 50% in five years. Fundamentally, what we need to do is reform, simplify and accelerate much of the bureaucratic practice that has seen the development process for infrastructure double in the past 20 years.
There has also been reference to section 15 of the climate Act. The disapplication of it means that public bodies can no longer be challenged on how they have assessed these considerations in their decision-making processes and it removes an avenue for judicial review, nothing more. I take the example of the reaction to the Galway ring road only last week and the concern by certain interest groups that they will not be able to use section 15 to try to use the courts to block a piece of critical infrastructure for the west. There are already many comments from Friends of the Environment wanting to use section 15 to stop a piece of critical infrastructure. I have canvassed in Galway and in the west, as have Deputies across the House. Every second door I knocked on wanted to see that happen. If we want the industrial development to happen in the west and if we want to see housing built in the west, then we cannot have the weaponisation of the climate Act for a piece of critical infrastructure. That is just one example in the context of the wider reform piece, which is why it is important to disapply section 15 in the context of critical infrastructure for the State.
The Critical Infrastructure Bill seeks to fast-track the process for designating projects and programmes through the existing processes, but more fundamental reform of our legal and regulatory systems is still necessary. That is what is happening in the context of my Department's regulatory simplification unit.
Deputy Fitzmaurice mentioned other areas that require attention, which they do. Some of that has a European context that we are working on in the context of the EU Presidency. There is also the wider simplification agenda where there are unnecessary layers and fragmented processes that have come from Europe. We are doing what we can achieve within our own legislative framework but there is a need for further reform. My wider point is that taking the 30 actions and interventions and reforms cumulatively is what builds momentum in the infrastructure cycle. That is why in other areas we are simplifying and streamlining the regulatory environment and we are currently working with key regulatory bodies and Departments to identify such reforms with a particular focus on consenting, permitting and licensing processes across sectors such as the energy, water and transport sectors. This infrastructure is necessary to support the development of all other social and economic infrastructure right across society. It is expected that reforms introduced as part of this process will not simply benefit critical infrastructure projects but will also serve to simplify regulatory processes for infrastructure more generally. If timelines can be reduced and systems paralleled, all projects will move quicker from conception to final delivery, thereby allowing them to open up and be delivered in a more accelerated way for people across the country.
We have taken note of the wider debate this evening and as we look to the coming decade the choices and the reforms we make about infrastructure delivery will determine our economic competitiveness, our climate resilience, housing construction and the quality of life enjoyed by communities across the country. I look forward to working with colleagues as we advance this legislation through the House.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-04-14/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-21T01:01:07+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-04-14