Critical Infrastructure Bill introduced
The Oireachtas Infrastructure NDP Delivery Committee has waived pre-legislative scrutiny of the Critical Infrastructure Bill, under the aegis of which the Government is to be allowed to designate specific infrastructure projects or programmes that it considers to be ‘critical’.
Announced by Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation Jack Chambers TD in March 2026, the legislation 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.
The Department states: “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.”
Under the legislation, the Government will have statutory powers to designate projects or programmes as ‘critical infrastructure’. To do this, government will designate specific projects or programmes by order, subject to Dáil resolution.
Any bodies in the approval processes for designated projects or programmes will be required to immediately prioritise and accelerate their consideration of those projects or programmes over and above all projects or programmes that do not have this designation.
In addition, all bodies involved in the approval processes are to “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.
The Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation will be given the statutory authority to give directions to any of the relevant bodies in the performance of their duties.
As per the Accelerating Infrastructure Report and Action Plan, the Department is also to continue to review the role that emergency powers might play in speeding up specific critical infrastructure projects. This includes a new power whereby public bodies building critical infrastructure projects will be immune from challenges on climate grounds.
Following a vote by the Oireachtas Infrastructure Committee in March 2026, the Bill’s passage is to be expedited after the committee voted to waive the pre-legislative scrutiny of the Bill.
Minister Chambers says: “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.”
However, Chambers’ former coalition colleague, Green Party leader Roderic O’Gorman TD, has said that the legislation “will be the death of the Climate Action Act”.
O’Gorman adds: “It will mean that major projects in areas like energy and transport, some of the biggest building projects in the State, will no longer be checked for their climate impact. The Government is in essence repealing the Climate Action Act by the back door.
“This is further evidence that this government has given up on any pretence of climate action. And it will ensure that fossil fuel continues to dominate our energy mix, just when the Iran war price-spike demonstrates the urgency of moving away from our dependence on oil and gas.”
Sinn Féin’s spokesperson on Public Expenditure and Reform, Mairéad Farrell TD, says: “Given their poor track record on infrastructure, it is incredibly concerning that the Government is acting to circumvent important scrutiny on major legislation.
“Sinn Féin will engage with any legislation that aims to address the deficit of critical infrastructure across the State. The infrastructural deficit that communities across this state have faced for decades will take a long time to fix. We need urgent action from government in this regard to ensure that our infrastructure meets the needs of our people and our communities.”
The Bill is set to become law by July 2026.
