Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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210. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform further to reports of proposed emergency planning powers for critical national infrastructure, the specific statutory provisions under consideration; the criteria by which a project would qualify; the proposed oversight and reporting arrangements to the Houses of the Oireachtas; the independent environmental and cost-benefit appraisal that would still be required; if a sunset clause and post-project review mechanism will apply; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60764/25]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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My Department is currently nearing the completion of a report and action plan on accelerating infrastructure delivery. This will be brought to Government in the coming weeks. It will set out a series of high-impact reforms targeted at the the most significant barriers to the timely delivery of critical infrastructure.

These reforms will have a clear focus on reducing timelines and improving outcomes. They will be targeted at the most impactful barriers to infrastructure delivery as outlined in the report: "Report on Stakeholder Consultation and Engagement with Emerging Themes on Infrastructure" published in July. This report identifies twelve barriers to effective infrastructure delivery in Ireland.

The most significant barriers identified can be broadly categorised according to the three headings, including:

1) Regulatory Environment – The growth and complexity of legislation, policy statements and strategies; how consents, licences and permissions for a development are obtained; the timelines for these processes, engagement between the regulatory bodies and project developers; and consistency across regulatory bodies.

2) Planning and Legal Systems – The increasing role that the courts play in infrastructure projects; the cascading of the consequences from these decisions through development cycles; and the impact that the uncertainty in planning and legal decisions have on projects.

3) Internal Systems – How the Government allocates funding and develops a credible project pipeline; the rules applied to the development of projects; and how contractors are selected/procured to undertake the works necessary for a project.

As noted, this report will be brought to Government for approval in the coming weeks. After this, I will be in a position to outline the specifics of the agreed actions.