The Accelerating Infrastructure Report published today, Wednesday 3rd December 2025, is a decisive step by the Irish Government to tackle barriers to infrastructure provision and speed up the deployment of €102bn capital expenditure planned to 2030: accelerating project delivery, reducing costs, fostering a culture of efficient project implementation across the State and driving competitiveness and productivity in the Irish economy.
The report is the outcome of months of work by leading experts identifying barriers to infrastructure delivery. It sets out concrete steps with clear timelines to drive efficient and timely infrastructure provision by tackling issues across legal, regulatory, delivery, and public acceptance domains.
The report also takes a practical approach with a mixture of legal reforms e.g. judicial review and new critical infrastructure legislation and common-sense amendments e.g. parallel sequencing of numerous consenting processes, increasing planning exemption thresholds, mandatory timelines for approval and inter-agency co-ordination. The plan also includes mechanisms that highlight and publicise the benefits of infrastructure to deliver for citizens in the common good.
Importantly, it is a whole of Government plan which defines actions, sets timelines, requires accountability, and establishes coordination frameworks to ensure that the plan is delivered. It also takes a flexible approach to adapting the actions. If a course correction is needed, it will be forthcoming.
Commenting on the publication, CEO of IDA Ireland Michael Lohan said, “The plan will be an important enabler of IDA’s strategy ‘Adapt Intelligently: A strategy for sustainable growth and innovation. Our strategy is an adaptive one, which is focused on ensuring that we can strengthen long term investment, deliver sustainable growth, scale cutting edge innovation, and deliver across all Irish regions. The reforms outlined in the Accelerating Infrastructure report are key to ensuring we drive competitiveness and productivity, enable improvements needed to support our client companies’ growth and deliver for Irelands future generations.”
“Specifically, IDA fully agrees with the Action Plan’s recognition of the importance of National Planning Statements in ensuring policy coherence and promoting consistency in decision-making. The successful implementation of IDA’s Next Generation Site (NGS) strategy depends on an investment-ready governance framework that delivers a predictable, transparent, and efficient environment for attracting and sustaining investment. A National Planning Statement focused on commercial and industrial development will be an important element in providing the necessary policy foundation to support the investment opportunities outlined in Ireland’s National Semiconductor Strategy ‘Silicon Island’ as well as the proposed National Strategy for Life Sciences. “
“Creating a predictable, transparent, and efficient environment to attract investment requires full Government support, particularly in delivering critical infrastructure. IDA welcomes the Action Plan’s provision for developer-led infrastructure delivery in specific circumstances, provided robust quality standards and governance commitments are in place.”
In summary, IDA Ireland believes the Action Plan will support IDA’s wider objectives in:
The report is the outcome of months of work by leading experts identifying barriers to infrastructure delivery. It sets out concrete steps with clear timelines to drive efficient and timely infrastructure provision by tackling issues across legal, regulatory, delivery, and public acceptance domains.
The report also takes a practical approach with a mixture of legal reforms e.g. judicial review and new critical infrastructure legislation and common-sense amendments e.g. parallel sequencing of numerous consenting processes, increasing planning exemption thresholds, mandatory timelines for approval and inter-agency co-ordination. The plan also includes mechanisms that highlight and publicise the benefits of infrastructure to deliver for citizens in the common good.
Importantly, it is a whole of Government plan which defines actions, sets timelines, requires accountability, and establishes coordination frameworks to ensure that the plan is delivered. It also takes a flexible approach to adapting the actions. If a course correction is needed, it will be forthcoming.
Commenting on the publication, CEO of IDA Ireland Michael Lohan said, “The plan will be an important enabler of IDA’s strategy ‘Adapt Intelligently: A strategy for sustainable growth and innovation. Our strategy is an adaptive one, which is focused on ensuring that we can strengthen long term investment, deliver sustainable growth, scale cutting edge innovation, and deliver across all Irish regions. The reforms outlined in the Accelerating Infrastructure report are key to ensuring we drive competitiveness and productivity, enable improvements needed to support our client companies’ growth and deliver for Irelands future generations.”
“Specifically, IDA fully agrees with the Action Plan’s recognition of the importance of National Planning Statements in ensuring policy coherence and promoting consistency in decision-making. The successful implementation of IDA’s Next Generation Site (NGS) strategy depends on an investment-ready governance framework that delivers a predictable, transparent, and efficient environment for attracting and sustaining investment. A National Planning Statement focused on commercial and industrial development will be an important element in providing the necessary policy foundation to support the investment opportunities outlined in Ireland’s National Semiconductor Strategy ‘Silicon Island’ as well as the proposed National Strategy for Life Sciences. “
“Creating a predictable, transparent, and efficient environment to attract investment requires full Government support, particularly in delivering critical infrastructure. IDA welcomes the Action Plan’s provision for developer-led infrastructure delivery in specific circumstances, provided robust quality standards and governance commitments are in place.”
In summary, IDA Ireland believes the Action Plan will support IDA’s wider objectives in:
- Enhancing Ireland’s Competitiveness: The Action Plan’s focus on streamlining planning, regulatory, and legal processes will reduce project timelines and costs, making Ireland an even more attractive destination for global investment.
- Delivering Critical Infrastructure: By prioritizing electricity, water, and transport, the plan addresses the essential enablers for new investment, job creation, and regional growth.
- Supporting Regional Development: The Plan’s commitment to connecting our regions to economic opportunity will reduce spatial inequalities and is fully aligned with IDA’s goal of maximising opportunities for regional investment and supporting social cohesion.
- Driving Sustainability and Innovation: The reforms will help Ireland realise opportunities in renewable energy and support the transition to a competitive low-carbon economy.
