The Irish Government has designated nine major infrastructure projects and programmes as being of critical national importance, giving them priority treatment in an effort to speed up approvals and decision-making.
The projects, which include MetroLink, the Galway City Ring Road and the Greater Dublin Drainage Project, are the first to receive the new status under the Critical Infrastructure Act 2026.
The legislation, proposed by Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers, was enacted last month. It requires public bodies involved in approving designated projects to reduce delays and provide the administrative, technical and decision-making resources needed to move schemes forward.
The Government said the new process would speed up decisions without removing existing legal requirements or influencing the outcome of planning and other statutory procedures.
The nine designated projects cover transport, water and energy infrastructure.
In transport, the list includes MetroLink, the Cork Area Commuter Rail Programme and the Galway City Ring Road.
Water projects include the Water Supply Project for the Eastern and Midlands Region, the Greater Dublin Drainage Project and the Limerick Bunlicky Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrade and Bioresource Centre.
The energy projects are the North South 400 kV Interconnector, the Moneypoint 400 kV Series Capacitor Project and the Letterkenny 110 kV Redevelopment Project.
Chambers said the move showed the Government’s commitment to tackling delays and accelerating infrastructure delivery.
“Designated projects effectively go to the top of the queue for faster processing and decision making by public bodies,” he said.
He added that Ireland had committed significant capital investment to infrastructure but needed to improve the speed at which projects were delivered.
The Government said the designated schemes would strengthen energy networks, expand water and wastewater capacity and improve public transport and connectivity.
More projects are expected to receive critical infrastructure status later this year under the Government’s Accelerating Infrastructure Action Plan.
Transport Infrastructure Ireland welcomed the designation of MetroLink and the Galway City Ring Road.
TII chief executive Lorcan O’Connor said the new framework would streamline approvals, improve cooperation between public bodies and speed up decisions.
He described the designations as a “powerful vote of confidence” in the projects’ potential to transform Ireland’s transport network, economy and regional development.
O’Connor said the new system could reduce administrative delays and help TII, the National Transport Authority and project teams maintain progress towards construction and delivery.
The Government hopes the new framework will help overcome long-standing delays affecting major infrastructure projects while maintaining the legal safeguards that govern planning and approval processes.
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