Government to consider legislation to empower Cabinet to fast-track major infrastructure projects

Micheál Martin said that projects, such as the Dublin Drainage Programme and water projects in Shannon, will be 'critical' and that 'housing depends on all these projects happening'.

The Government will consider legislation to empower the Cabinet to fast-track major infrastructure projects, the Taoiseach has said.

Asked about legislation recently introduced in Canada, Micheál Martin told the Irish Examiner that similar measures could be pursued by the Coalition.

This could include measures that "circumvent” issues such as judicial reviews, the Fianna Fáil leader said.

His comments comes ahead of a Cabinet committee considering measures to fast-track infrastructure delivery.

The Canadian law allow for projects of national interest, such as oil pipelines and mines, to be fast-tracked. 

It also gives the Canadian cabinet the power to override some federal laws, which could slow down the delivery of these national interest projects.

However, the law was not without controversy, with environmental groups and Indigenous voices raising concerns about the impact of the legislation.

Asked if Ireland should consider a similar law, Mr Martin said: “That’s something we will look at, whether we need critical infrastructure legislation.

“I've asked the attorney general [Rossa Fanning] in respect of the Dublin Drainage Programme, for example. 

"It's complex, because at the end of the day, the European frameworks are the European frameworks, and you can't just null and void them or go past them.

“But certainly there is an urgent necessity. We did do stuff that people forget.

"We did gas generation very quickly. We passed emergency legislation when the CRU [Commission for Regulation of Utilities] came to us in 2021 and said: ‘We have problems’.

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“The then-attorney general in double quick time passed legislation to get gas generation capacity in and to bypass certain procedures that you would otherwise have to go by.

“This Government is taking big decisions in terms of the Metro, in terms of that water project from the Shannon," Mr Martin said.

“The issue now for us is how do we ensure delivery? On the Metro, there will be, probably, JRs [judicial reviews], and all of that.

“But we have to see can we circumvent some of that.”

Mr Martin said that projects, such as the Dublin Drainage Programme and water projects in Shannon, will be “critical” and that “housing depends on all these projects happening”.

 “We're not just looking at housing in terms of now just the various housing schemes," he said.

“Housing and infrastructure are going parallel. It’s been the one issue that have dominated my first nine months in Government where we have cabinet subcommittees very regularly on housing.

“I'm on to [housing minister] James Browne very regularly, and on to other ministers to see what can we do to move faster on some of these legislative changes.”

Meanwhile, public expenditure minister Jack Chambers will update the Cabinet committee on infrastructure in Monday on the work of the accelerating infrastructure taskforce he established and chairs.

An action report will be published in one month, with a range of measures to fast-track infrastructure delivery, streamline processes, and remove barriers.

This will include emergency powers and what sources described as a "big focus" on judicial review reforms.