While the focus in advance of Wednesday’s publication of a plan to accelerate the development of State infrastructure has been largely on reforms to legal processes, the report also proposes a sweeping reform of the operation of State agencies and Government departments, including a recommendation that they be encouraged to take risks to accelerate project delivery.
The report, commissioned by Minister for Public Expenditure, Jack Chambers, includes 30 recommendations broken down into four sections, of which one section is reform of the co-ordination and delivery of projects. Under this heading, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform is to have “whole-of-Government oversight” of infrastructure delivery as part of a reformed process.
A key recommendation is that there should be “risk management statements” issued to departments and agencies to move away from the current approach where fear of legal challenge via judicial reviews is seen to lead to lengthy delays.
A clearing house for utilities and transport is to be established to try to increase co-ordination of the supply of vital supports for development in areas like housing between agencies and local authorities.
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The plan also promises to streamline the visa process for construction workers coming to work here, as well as increasing the output of skilled workers from the Irish education system. The consenting process for projects, notably in the water sector, is also to be streamlined.
Under the separate heading of “public acceptance” in the recommendations, State bodies are to be obliged to co-operate in making land available and accessible for critical infrastructure. There is also to be a drive to help the public to understand the vital role of big infrastructure projects.
[ Timelines for big infrastructure projects could be cut by a year under new plansOpens in new window ]
The report also has nine recommendations under the heading of planning and regulatory reform. A special unit is to look at simplifying regulatory processes which cause delays and are seen to increase the scope for judicial reviews.
There is also to be legislative amendments to try to speed up regulatory processes, as well as a reform to the rules and regulations which operate within agencies and departments.
Greater attention is also to be paid to the transposition of European Union legislation into Irish law, with the committee believing that Ireland has gone further than necessary in some areas, leading to delays and complications.
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A key recommendation is also to review the role of the Office of the Planning Regulator and ensure that national policy is better reflected at a local level. The zoning policies- sometimes involving dezoning of land at a local level – has been criticised by developers and caused frustration in central Government.
The legal reform aspects of the plan, involving seven recommendations, have already been widely debated. These include reforms of the judicial review process, as well as a critical infrastructure bill to provide a framework to ensure big projects are prioritised.
An emergency powers bill is also to be drawn up, though this may only apply in rare situations of national need.
A programme of legislative reform is also being introduced, targeting the compulsory purchase area and also reforms to environmental assessments.
The thresholds at which critical infrastructure requires planning approval is also to be increased and there is to be a commitment to rapidly respond to court decisions, offering options to Government – such as new legislation – to deal with any fallout.
