Minister Chambers Announces Government Approval for Development of Critical Infrastructure Bill

The Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, Jack Chambers TD today announced that he has secured Government approval for the General Scheme of the Critical Infrastructure Bill.

The Bill will allow Government, with Dáil approval, to designate specific infrastructure projects or programmes that the Government considers to be critical. This designation will require all State bodies involved in the approval process for the infrastructure in question to prioritise their consideration of it. It also requires all State bodies involved in the approval processes for this infrastructure to cooperate and coordinate with each other.

In practical terms, this Act will create a fast-track channel through existing processes for designated critical infrastructure where projects go to the top of the queue for assessment by decision making bodies. This should lead to significant improvements in the timelines for the approval of critical infrastructure.

The Department will work closely with the Office of the Attorney General to draft the legislation over the coming weeks with a view to commencing the legislation in the Oireachtas at the earliest possible opportunity.

As per the Accelerating Infrastructure Report and Action Plan, the Department will also continue to review the role that emergency powers might play in speeding up specific critical infrastructure projects.

Commenting today, Minister Chambers said:

“The creation of a Critical Infrastructure Bill is a key measure in the Accelerating Infrastructure Report and Action Plan. It will address the unacceptable delays in our approval processes by mandating whole-of-State cooperation and creating a fast-track pathway for critical projects and programmes.

More fundamental reform is necessary and this work is in progress through my Department’s regulatory simplification unit. While this unit does its work to reform the regulatory system, this Bill will accelerate the most critical projects through the existing system.

By establishing a clear legal basis for a limited number of Government priorities, the Bill will reduce ambiguity and ensure that critical projects and programmes go to the top of the queue for assessment by decision making bodies and receive fast and coordinated attention right across the system.”

Notes for Editors

Key provisions of the General Scheme include:

• For the Government to have statutory powers to designate projects or programmes as ‘critical infrastructure’. The Government will designate specific projects or programmes by order, subject to Dáil resolution;
• The focus is on critical infrastructure, as this is the infrastructure required to underpin the development of all other social and economic infrastructure;
• Any bodies in the approval processes for designated projects or programmes shall immediately prioritise and accelerate their consideration of those projects or programmes over and above all projects or programmes that do not have this designation;
• All bodies involved in the approval processes shall cooperate on a whole-of-State basis to create a fast-track pathway for nationally significant projects and programmes;
• All bodies should actively support the coordinated delivery of said designated projects and programmes so that administrative or procedural delays are minimised; and
• The Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation can give directions to any of the relevant bodies in the performance of their duties.

ENDS