Joe Conway (Independent)

I thank Senator Duffy for his thorough support for my Commencement matter yesterday on the shingles vaccine. The Government's new Accelerating Infrastructure - Report and Action Plan unveiled yesterday promises a lot. The single word I would apply to the plan is "aspirational". It brings to mind the old quip about Brighton Pier; it is good as far as it goes but it is a poor way of getting to France. Let me insert here that, in common with the great majority of our people, I want to see the so-called housing crisis effectively dealt with but plans that are waffly and simply aspirational will not do for this challenging business.

The plan's first pillar is based on legal reform, and within this are a number of proposals to limit and curtail judicial review. One example is the civil reform Bill, to be published by the Department of justice, that will allow the Legislature to determine the scope and application of judicial review. As we in this House all know, Article 34 of Bunreacht na hÉireann provides for the administration of justice in our courts by an independent Judiciary. The Constitution is based on a principle of separation of powers, with the Judiciary, Executive and Legislature having important but distinct roles to play in exercising the functions of the State.

The action plan speaks in general terms, of course, and so we cannot know precisely what legislative reform the Government plans, but for the Legislature to step into the realm of the Judiciary and carve up what the Constitution calls the "full original jurisdiction" of the High Court could be a move of grave consequence. I would be doubtful that it could be achieved, certainly not in any way that is meaningful, without a constitutional amendment. No such amendment is mentioned in the Government's action plan. Article 6 and Articles 34 to 37 of Bunreacht na hÉireann deal with the area of the separation of powers, even though that phrase does not appear in the Constitution. I believe the Supreme Court will always uphold Article 43, which specifically guarantees property rights.

The plan, strangely, gives to AI a deus ex machina feature, whereby artificial intelligence is going to do the devil and all for infrastructure. For example, the report states that AI could be used to identify the common barriers and bottlenecks inherent in projects.Seriously, a Leas-Chathaoirligh, does Ireland really need AI to identify the barriers and bottlenecks that have been glaring at us for over half a century? To me, the plan is aspirational and not inspirational. It is born of a need to assure that something comprehensive is being done. As I have said previously in this Chamber, nobody in this Oireachtas really believes that 300,000 houses will be delivered by 2030. It is demonstrably fatuous. Speeding up the delivery of much-needed housing and infrastructure is in all our interests, but our fundamental law must be respected, however inconvenient that may be.