The Government’s Accelerating Infrastructure Report and Action Plan is a serious attempt to convert record capital budgets into delivered assets. The Plan sets out a comprehensive roadmap to "drive the efficient delivery of infrastructure across Ireland".
The Plan looks to address twelve systemic barriers which were identified by the Accelerating Infrastructure Taskforce in July of this year as hindering the delivery of infrastructure. To overcome these obstacles, the Plan introduces 30 specific, time-bound measures designed to accelerate the delivery of critical infrastructure under four pillars (i) Legal Reform, (ii) Regulatory Reform and Simplification, (iii) Coordination and Delivery Reform, and (iv) Public Acceptance. The Plan assigns each action to a Government department or state agency which will be responsible for making sure it is delivered within the prescribed time frame.
1. Legal Reform
The Plan aims to restore proportionately how legal challenges are currently affecting the delivery of infrastructure. It also seeks to reduce the extent that nationally significant projects are subject to undue procedural delay. In this respect, the Plan:
- sets out targeted reforms to judicial review and proposes a Civil Reform Bill to place judicial review on a statutory footing, clarifying standing requirements, remedies and costs.
- provides for a Critical Infrastructure Bill to accelerate the consenting of critical infrastructure such as water, electricity and transport.
- envisages emergency powers for the Government to speed up critical infrastructure in emergencies bypassing the need for environmental assessment in line with EU exemption procedures. There is precedent for this at both national and EU level, such as the powers used to secure temporary electricity generation after the outbreak of war in Ukraine, when emergency legislation enabled time‑critical capacity to proceed in the public interest.
- calls for a more targeted and proportionate approach to environmental assessments, with meaningful early scoping for EIA and an increase in EIA thresholds (particularly for extensions to existing facilities) reducing the need for unnecessarily lengthy assessments.
2. Regulatory Reform and Simplification
The Plan aims to cut red tape around planning and regulatory approvals. Among the measures:
- National Planning Statements for critical infrastructure to provide clear guidance to consenting authorities on the Government's expectations for the development of such infrastructure.
- The establishment of a new Regulatory Simplification Unit to coordinate the streamlining of regulatory processes and structures.
- "Parallel sequencing" of consents to ensure that, where possible, different permitting processes for the same project run simultaneously rather than sequentially, reducing delay.
- Mandated agency‑level reforms such as a duty to cooperate with other agencies and a duty to engage with applicants for consent.
3. Coordination and delivery reform
A key problem identified by the Taskforce was fragmentation – different agencies, regulators, semi-states and local authorities often operating in silos, resulting in delays. The Plan aims to remedy this by embedding strategic coordination into the system. Measures include:
- A new central infrastructure coordination function in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to provide for whole-of-government oversight of infrastructure delivery.
- The introduction of risk appetite statements at Government, sector and project levels to counter excessive caution, enable proportionate oversight and accelerate delivery
- The Streamlining of Infrastructure Guidelines (including removing the external assurance process and offering centralised NDFA support for major projects)
- The establishment of a Joint Utilities and Transport Clearing House and the creation of formal engagement structures to promote more effective engagement between local government and utilities.
- Procurement reform—greater flexibility in the CWMF, wider use of internationally recognised forms where appropriate, and a relaunched Procurement Skills Academy.
4. Public Acceptance
Public acceptance is a delivery pillar in its own right recognizing how essential community buy in is for any project. Actions include:
- Building and reframing the national narrative around the benefits of infrastructure.
- Creating a benefits realisation framework.
- Obliging State bodies to cooperate in making land available and accessible for critical infrastructure.
Beauchamps is pleased to see that the Plan incorporates some of its recommendations set out in the February 2025 edition of Eolas Magazine (https://www.eolasmagazine.ie/securing-irelands-future-enhancing-efficiency-in-infrastructure-delivery/). In this article, partners, Stuart Conaty and Fiona Egan, set out the case for targeted derogations from environmental assessment requirements under EU law in exceptional cases, procurement reform to restore competition, and digitally enabled, collaborative delivery models. We have also consistently advocated for simplifying the EIA process through meaningful scoping to identify the real environmental issues, enabling focused, proportionate assessments and, where appropriate, parallel processing to cut down on unnecessary and foreseeable delays in the system.
We are cautiously optimistic. The Action Plan is a strong framework and a step in the right direction. But impact hinges on disciplined implementation, consistent regulator practice and sustained public engagement. The proposed emergency toolkit must be tightly governed yet usable; EIA reforms must drive real behavioural change in consenting authorities at pre‑application stage; statutory timelines must be matched by resourcing; and parallel processing must become the norm, not the exception. Above all, public buy‑in remains decisive.
Beauchamps is advising sponsors, utilities and authorities on how to best respond to and utilize these reforms — designing proportionate but robust assessment strategies, structuring resilient consenting pathways, aligning procurement with market capacity, and using early scoping to de‑risk challenge and streamline consenting. With credible follow‑through, these measures can convert policy intent into timely, lawful outcomes that deliver homes, clean power and efficient transport at the pace Ireland now requires.
For more information, please contact Jeanie Kelly, Stuart Conaty on the Planning & Environment team or your usual contact.