Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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13. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he is reviewing the infrastructure guidelines; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39797/25]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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In 2023, my Department refreshed the requirements for capital projects in the Infrastructure Guidelines, reducing the number of approval stages prior to implementation from 5 to 3 and streamlining the requirements for major projects, raising the level of cost at which a project is considered a major project to €200m. This allows for projects below this limit to proceed more speedily through the appraisal and evaluation process compared to those of greater scale and complexity.

This was a significant policy development that allows Departments greater freedom to pursue the delivery of their priority projects.

In addition, the Programme for Government committed my Department to reviewing the Infrastructure Guidelines as part of the Programme's wider focus on improving infrastructure delivery. In April, a series of actions were agreed by Government with the aim of accelerating the delivery of strategic infrastructure to support the delivery of housing and improvements in competitiveness.

These actions, which will be led by myself and my Department include:

• Review of the NDP by end July, of which guidance has issued to all Departments emphasising the Programme for Government’s prioritisation of increased investment in growth enhancing infrastructure, such as energy grid capacity, water supply, transport connectivity and health digitalisation.
• The establishment of a new Infrastructure Division within my Department, which includes redeployed experts from key delivery agencies, such as ESB Networks, Eirgrid, Uisce Eireann, Transport Infrastructure Ireland. These redeployed experts bring their experience and expertise to develop impactful policies that improve infrastructure delivery.
• The preparation of an evidence-based assessment of the barriers impeding timely infrastructure development, which will inform an Action Plan of high-impact reform measures that Government will consider for implementation. Appraisal processes for capital projects and the Infrastructure Guidelines will be considered in the context of this work.
• The establishment of a new Accelerating Infrastructure Taskforce which I chair and which meets monthly. The Taskforce will monitor the implementation of the Action Plan’s measures. The taskforce’s membership includes a small number of senior leaders with direct experience of infrastructure development, joined by the CEOs of the semi-states most integral to infrastructure development.
• The expansion of the role of the National Development Finance Agency, which will provide Departments with additional expert assistance and support on major public capital investment projects through dedicated support teams for specific projects referred to it.