Dublin West TDs divided over Critical Infrastructure Bill

Two Dublin West TDs are on different sides of the Critical Infrastructure Bill.

Fianna Fáil TD and Minister for Public Expenditure, Jack Chambers, said he welcomed news that the bill was approved, and said the “essential” piece of legislation should be “urgently considered” by the Dáil.

The language of the bill says that the government would be able to designate certain projects as “critical,” allowing them to bypass Ireland’s famously Kafka-esque planning laws.

With Chambers serving as Minister for Public Expenditure, the Fianna Fáil TD has made passage of the bill his political priority.

Minister Chambers fought the government’s corner, saying “this bill make sure that those projects and programmes that the government designates as critical infrastructure will get speedy and coordinated attention on a whole-of-state  basis, cutting timelines and eliminating delays.”

“These projects and programmes will go to the top of the queue for consideration in every public body and will be fast-tracked through existing processes without skipping any steps.”

He said that should the bill be passed, the Department of Public Expenditure will “monitor the performance of public bodies in implementing this legislation and the legislation also gives me power to direct any public body to adopt measures that I deem may be necessary for compliance with this legislation.”

He said that his Department was dedicated to “fundamentally reforming the existing regulatory landscape.”

“These measures will address delays across the system and accelerate the delivery of key infrastructure for the people of Ireland.”

The Dublin West Minister said, “I want to see a regulatory regime that is leaner, more responsive and more coherent and these circulars will see Departments and public bodies place these concerns to the fore of their day-to-day work.”

“Critically, these actions are part of a broader effort to accelerate delivery of the critical infrastructure that is required to meet the needs of our society and growing economy today and into the future.”

From the opposition corner, Green leader and Dublin West TD Roderic O’Gorman said that the bill would be “the death of the Climate Action act.”

Since the 34th Dáil was fully formed in January 2025, the government – reliant on the support of rural independents – has made no secret of wanting to shed itself of Green influence.

Green Party plans to reduce speed limits in rural and urban areas have fallen by the wayside since Darragh O’Brien took control of the Department of Transport from Éamon Ryan in January 2025, and the government’s recent allocation of funding for rural road projects over public transport was a clear indicator that the government have moved on from their former coalition partners.

O’Gorman expressed concern about the new nature of the Critical Infrastructure Bill, saying that in its current form “it  will mean that major projects in areas like energy and transport – some of the biggest building projects in the state – will no longer be checked for their climate impact.”

“The government is in essence repealing the Climate Action Act by the back door,” O’Gorman asserted.

The Dublin West TD said the bill was “further evidence that this government has given up on any pretence of climate action.”

“It will ensure that fossil fuel continues to dominate our energy mix, just when the Iran war price-spike demonstrates the urgency of moving away from our dependence on oil and gas”.

The Green leader said that the bill was likely to pass because of the government’s overall majority in the Oireachtas Infrastructure Committee and in the Dáil.

The Oireachtas Infrastructure Committee’s government majority meant that the bill avoided the pre-legislative scrutiny process, with O’Gorman saying that TDs and Senators cannot question the government’s rationale for targeting the Climate Action Act and why they believe this was the cause of delays to major projects.