Summary of the Accelerating Infrastructure Report and Action Plan

Ireland is investing record amounts in infrastructure, but major projects—roads, energy, water systems—are taking far too long to deliver. Delays of 7–10 years for even modest projects are now common. This slows down housing, raises costs, restricts energy supply, and damages Ireland’s competitiveness.

The Government’s report identifies 12 key reasons for these delays. They fall into three groups:

1. Regulatory & Community Barriers

• Too many layers of regulation

• Agencies working slowly and in sequence

• Rising levels of public objections

• A surge in legal challenges (judicial reviews)

2. Planning & Legal Issues

• Long, complicated environmental assessments

• Inconsistent planning decisions

• No fast-track system for nationally important projects

3. System & Capacity Problems

• Poor coordination between government bodies

• Weak procurement competition

• Construction sector capacity shortages

• Uncertain long-term funding plan

To fix this, the Government proposes reforms grouped under four pillars:

The Four-Pillar Plan

1. Legal Reform

Make court challenges faster and more predictable, and prevent small technical errors from blocking major national projects.

2. Regulatory Reform

Simplify approvals, set firm deadlines for regulators, and allow parallel (not sequential) assessments to shorten timelines.

3. Better Coordination & Delivery

Strengthen central oversight, improve procurement, increase construction sector capacity, and use digital tools (including AI) to streamline processes.

4. Increasing Public Acceptance

Communicate national benefits more clearly, create a benefits-tracking framework, and improve cooperation on land access.

Why It Matters

Without major reform, Ireland will struggle to build the infrastructure needed for:

• housing delivery

• renewable energy expansion

• climate targets

• transport upgrades

• future economic competitiveness

The report is blunt: funding isn’t the problem—delivery is. Ireland must overhaul its systems, laws, and processes or face continued delays, rising costs, and national bottlenecks.

There's a podcast on this report here.

Accelerating Infrastructure: Report on Stakeholder Consultation and Engagement with Emerging Themes on Infrastructure, July 2025

1. Context and Purpose

• Ireland is investing more in infrastructure than ever before (≈ €15bn in 2025, ~5% of GNI*).
• Despite this, project lifecycles (from inception to delivery) have lengthened significantly.
• The report, based on stakeholder consultation and public engagement, identifies barriers to infrastructure delivery.
• Focus sectors: electricity, transport, and water (seen as foundational for wider social and economic development).
• This is an initial assessment feeding into a final report and Action Plan to be published in autumn 2025.

2. Capital Investment Trends

Investment nearly quadrupled over the last decade.

Key achievements:

• Water: Uisce Éireann ramped annual investment from €300m (2014) → €1.4bn (2024).
• Energy: Renewable capacity up 50% since 2022.
• Transport: Major road bypasses, 660km of walking routes, 400km cycling lanes, 220km greenways.
• Housing: ~53,000 local authority dwellings since 2021.
• Education: 800+ school projects completed since 2020.
• Health: New ward blocks and National Rehabilitation Hospital redevelopment.

Still, Ireland has a 32% infrastructure gap (IMF) and quality gap of 27%.

Problems persist: planning delays, low construction productivity, labour shortages.

3. Stakeholder Engagement

Involved 50+ stakeholders, two public events, and 170 written submissions.

Consensus: Ireland’s infrastructure delivery model underperforms.

Complaints:

• Overly complex regulatory approvals.
• Rising judicial reviews stalling projects.
• Administrative fragmentation.
• Risk-averse culture in agencies.

Public consultation highlighted:

• Housing shortages, missed climate targets, weakened FDI attractiveness.

• Infrastructure delays seen as systemic, not technical.

4. International Best Practice

Other common law jurisdictions face similar issues (UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, California).

Reforms elsewhere include:

• Fast-tracking projects of national interest.
• Streamlined environmental processes (esp. brownfield).
• Centralised infrastructure authorities.

Ireland is especially disadvantaged: slowest planning/legal system in EU + strict regulatory transposition.

5. Barriers to Infrastructure Delivery

The report identifies 12 key barriers, grouped under regulatory, planning/legal, and internal systems:

1. Public Acceptance – Benefits are diffuse, costs localised → opposition delays projects.

2. Increased Regulatory Burden – Ireland often exceeds EU minimums, leading to duplication and delays.

3. Risk Aversion – Agencies fear litigation, slowing decisions.

4. Rising Judicial Reviews – Up 20% in 2025; widely used to stall projects.

5. Consequences of Reviews – Even minor procedural flaws can derail major projects for years.

6. Uncoordinated Approvals – Overlapping licences/permits, sequential instead of parallel processing.

7. Slow Processes – Internal appraisal stages take too long.

8. Inconsistent Planning Decisions – Outdated/missing guidelines create uncertainty.

9. Weak Prioritisation/Coordination – Agencies can’t balance societal needs with narrow mandates.

10. Procurement Challenges – Declining competition, rigid frameworks, slow tendering.

11. Uncertainty of Funding/Pipeline – Limits capacity building in the sector.

12. Construction Sector Weaknesses – Productivity and skills remain below pre-crisis peaks.

6. Next Steps

A final report and Action Plan will be published in autumn 2025.

It will:

• Propose reforms (legal, institutional, procedural).
• Include case studies showing economic and social costs of delays.
• Assess reforms in peer jurisdictions for applicability.
• Recommend time-bound, actor-specific interventions.

Key Takeaways for Economics Students

1. Ireland’s infrastructure gap is not just financial but also procedural and institutional.
2. Judicial reviews and regulatory complexity are the biggest bottlenecks.
3. Capital is available, but the system struggles to deliver projects efficiently.
4. Infrastructure is crucial for competitiveness, FDI, housing, and climate commitments.
5. Reform will require balancing accountability and speed, while ensuring environmental obligations are respected.