Three Years for Accelerating Infrastructure Report To Be Completed – Tóibín
The Aontú leader has lambasted the government’s slow pace of infrastructure delivery, saying that the Accelerating Infrastructure Report published by government today is a shining example of red tape and delay.
Speaking today, Deputy Tóibín said:
“This report today is straight out of the political series “Yes Minister”. In January the government committed to setting up a ‘taskforce’ to accelerate the delivery of infrastructure, in April they established a ‘division’, in May they staffed it, in June they did a public consultation process, in July they did an interim report, and then spent the last few months doing “workshops” before publishing the report today, just shy of a year later. The outcome? Thirty “actions” largely consisting of commitments to further ‘examine’ issues and plan how to tackle them. Also, much of what will be done will not be complete until 2027 or later”.
Deputy Tóibín continued: “Ireland has some of the slowest planning, licencing, permitting, tendering and judicial reviews in the whole of the EU. The government themselves are significantly slowing down the building of infrastructure including housing. Aontú has been tackling the government consistently on this issue for the last three years. From the National Children’s Hospital to the MetroLink, to the Navan to Dublin Rail Line, to the Greater Dublin Drainage Project, it’s clear we have a huge problem with delivery of infrastructure, The programme for government contains the word “review” some 126 times. The word ‘build’ only appears 38 times in the document. An example of major dysfunction is the fact that €300 million has been spent on Metro North so far, but not a single shovel has been put into the ground in relation to the project”.
“We welcome the news that the judicial review system will be reformed to limit the ability to object to primarily those who are affected by proposed developments. It is ludicrous that at the moment an individual in Dublin can object to a project in Kerry or Donegal. Incredibly when I asked the Minister for Housing – James Browne – what the average wait time was for planning permission in this country he told me, not only that he didn’t know, but that it wasn’t his job to know”.
He then gave me an email address for An Bord Pleanála suggesting they may be able to answer my question but when contacted they told me they have a policy not to meet with individual TDs. I thought the whole encounter was emblematic of the problems with delivery. The Minister for Housing doesn’t know how long people are waiting for planning permission, and ABP are saying it’s not proper for them to discuss the matter with democratically elected TDs. There is a painful irony in the fact that the Accelerating Infrastructure Report took a year to complete. Enough of the reviews, enough reports, enough of the red tape, Aontú wants to see money rolling and concrete pouring”, concluded Tóibín.
