Irish Examiner view: Will the Government's infrastructure plan cut through red tape for the better?

Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Simon Harris TD launching the 'Accelerating Infrastructure – Report and Action Plan' at Government Buildings. Picture: Sam Boal/Collins Photos

The Government’s plan to speed up major projects was unveiled on Wednesday and, as expected, one focus of the new plan will be restrictions on judicial reviews, which have long been blamed for the slow pace of infrastructure delivery.

The timing of the announcement could hardly have been bettered, given the detail on the new Europort project that was also shared. 

It envisages a doubling in the size of the existing port, the construction of a facility to develop and expand Ireland’s offshore wind energy industry, and a deepened access channel to the port to create additional capacity.

On that basis, it has the potential to be transformative — shifting port activity out of Dublin would be a major plus in terms of congestion and balanced development — but in its scale and size, it would also be an obvious target of the dreaded judicial review.

There is no doubt that decisive action is needed in this era. 

The problems facing our infrastructure require large-scale solutions, yet these are the very same projects mired in red tape time and again.

On that basis, the specifics of the Government’s new plan bear examination. 

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For instance, courts will be asked whether a judicial review would be successful, while another change would mean judicial reviews only being taken on the final planning decision of a major project rather than against multiple stages.

A note of caution must be struck. 

There are always potential issues with hasty legislation, while any hint of corners being cut should be strongly resisted. 

We are still dealing with the aftermath of laissez-faire oversight during the Celtic Tiger era.

However, large-scale infrastructure projects are desperately needed in Ireland to facilitate homes being built, to enable people to move freely around the country, and to provide energy and other vital services. 

Irish society as a whole needs such projects to be undertaken as soon as possible and, if this plan can facilitate those projects, so much the better.

Age vs independence: Daring nuns are 80 going on 18

Many readers have no doubt enjoyed the rolling narrative of the three nuns in Salzburg, Austria, a story which has unfolded over the last three months.

In September, the three octogenarian nuns broke out of their nursing home and broke back into their former convent, the Schloss Goldenstein; some of their former students helped them to escape and even arranged for a locksmith to let them back into the building.

They became big news in the process. 

Many media outlets covered their story, and they collected hundreds of thousands of followers on Instagram who tracked their daily routines — praying, meeting with the members of the local community, and boxing to keep fit.

This week it appeared that a resolution of sorts was reached when the local diocese agreed to let them remain in the convent. 

Sisters Rita (R), 81, Regina (L), 86, and Bernadette (C), 88, celebrate a mass with over a dozen of supporters and former students, at the convent chapel of the Goldenstein castle, in the municipality of Elsbethen, south of Salzburg city, Austria. Picture: Joe Klamar/AFP via Getty

However, it recommended such stringent restrictions that it is unclear whether the three nuns will agree to the new regime. 

The church authorities want them to close their social media accounts, to return to a more secluded monastic life, and to be placed on a waiting list to return to the nursing home in advance of the time when they cannot be cared for at the convent.

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The appeal of this story is undeniable, down to the fact that Salzburg has a history of producing feisty nuns which goes back to The Sound of Music. 

However, there are questions raised by this tale which go beyond the obvious cinematic possibilities.

People are living far longer in the 21st century, and the presence of far more elderly people than a few decades ago raises particular questions of a society. 

These nuns are in their 80s, but they wish to remain independent rather than live in a nursing home. Who has the authority to decide otherwise?

The fact that these three women are part of an organisation which exerts an unusual level of control over its members does not obscure the urgency of that question. 

We must balance care for the elderly with respect for their independence, and that may prove to be a challenging combination of imperatives.

Jonathan Anderson: Derry proud of fashion hat-trick

Readers who are not dedicated fashionistas may not be aware of a recent triumph by an Irish designer, one which completed a remarkable hat-trick of successes.

Derry fashion designer Jonathan Anderson won top prize at the 2025 British Fashion Awards last Monday, being named Designer of the Year.

He picked up the award for his work at JW Anderson and also for his work at the famous fashion house Dior, where he started this year as creative director.

Northern Ireland-born fashion designer Jonathan Anderson acknowledges the audience at the end of Dior's fashion show for the Women Ready-to-wear Spring-Summer 2026 collection as part of Paris Fashion Week, in October. Picture: Julien De Rosa/AFP via Getty

It is the third year in a row that Anderson has won the coveted Designer of the Year award, and the Magherafelt native nodded to his native shore with his own outfit on the night, wearing a dark jacket decorated with bright green shamrock designs.

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It is difficult to overstate the significance of this week’s achievement by Anderson, but some context may be offered by his standing at Dior, where he is the first designer since Christian Dior himself to oversee all lines of the house — that means men’s, women’s, accessories, and haute couture.

It has long been a reflexive inclusion in any coverage of Anderson to mention that his father is the well-known former rugby international Willie Anderson. 

Such are the son’s accomplishments that Willie will surely be identified as Jonathan’s father from now on.