MetroLink among first nine projects designated critical infrastructure

By Claudia Savage and Bairbre Holmes, Press Association

There is a need to bring critical projects to “top of the queue”, the Public Expenditure minister has said as he announced nine schemes to be prioritised including Dublin’s MetroLink.

Jack Chambers said the “slow pace” at which the state completes essential developments is dampening economic performance and is “probably the biggest contributor to our wider issues around housing”.

The Critical Infrastructure Act passed this year allows the Government to designate projects as “critical infrastructure” and obligates public bodies to prioritise them in decision making.

I did this because it has become evident that the slow pace at which we build infrastructure is holding back the economy, undermining a wider quality of life, and is probably the biggest contributor to our wider issues around housing

The coalition has faced criticism on speed of delivery of projects, including the long-delayed flagship MetroLink – currently planned as an 18.8-kilometre route with 16 stations that will link Dublin Airport to the city centre at an estimated cost of 11 billion euro.

Other transport projects designated are the Cork Area Commuter Rail Programme and the Galway City Ring Road.

The three water projects include the Water Supply Project for the eastern and midlands regions, the Greater Dublin Drainage Project and the Bunlicky Wastewater Treatment Plant.

In energy, three electricity grid projects are also being designated –  the North South Interconnector, the redevelopment of a station at Letterkenny and the construction of a new series capacitor at Laois.

Chambers said he has made “the acceleration of infrastructure” his “top priority”.

“I did this because it has become evident that the slow pace at which we build infrastructure is holding back the economy, undermining a wider quality of life, and is probably the biggest contributor to our wider issues around housing,” he said.

Chambers said there is a “very clear mandate around the need base for every public body to bring the respect to projects to the top of the queue”.

“Across many of these projects, we’re already seeing timelines improve, so Greater Dublin drainage is already 12 months ahead of schedule,” he said.

“And other projects actually are on a critical path where they would require this designation, where in some instances we’ve been presented with risks of delays, for example, where decisions across the complexity of regulation or permitting, they need this designation to give certainty to the critical path that’s set out.

“So this will improve wider timelines, but also give credibility to the market around when we plan to go to construction and also when completion needs to occur.”

Asked if there was a cap to prevent too many projects being deemed a priority, Mr Chambers said “a project being designated has to see benefits from its actual designation over a six to 12-month period”.

“There’ll be clear discipline for me and my department on ensuring that designation has a benefit over a critical time period, and that’ll be clear to actually drive performance in the public service.

“In some instances, we’ve projects going through long and lengthy design processes over and business case development over a two to four-year period, where there’s no one getting in the way except for internal performance relating to driving that project on.

“So this creates an incentive to get to a point where a project can actually benefit from a designation.”