The Critical Infrastructure Bill will mandate every public body to do everything within its power to accelerate approval of any designated projects or programmes to the maximum extent possible.

Public bodies will also be required to cooperate and to coordinate, prioritise and sequence their duties with other public bodies and to allocate any administrative, technical and decision-making resources necessary for the rapid approval of a project or programme.

The government argues that this will drive much more rapid approval processes for critic infrastructure, without eliminating any legal or regulatory safeguards.

It will be for the government and the Dáil to decide what projects or programmes will be designated as critical infrastructure following the bill’s passage.

The bill specifically identifies critical infrastructure in the energy, transport and water sectors as being of priority.

Public expenditure, infrastructure, public service reform and digitalisation minister Jack Chambers said: “I am delighted to announce the approval of the Critical Infrastructure Bill. This opens the way for me to bring this essential piece of legislation into the Oireachtas for urgent consideration.

“This bill will 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 path through existing processes without skipping any steps.

“My Department 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.

“At the same time, my Department’s regulatory simplification unit will continue to work to fundamentally reform the existing regulatory landscape. Together, these measures will address delays across the system and accelerate the delivery of key infrastructure for the people of Ireland.”

Two key infrastructure circulars have also been issued to government departments, including one relating to the monitoring of court judgments.

The first circular aims to embed “principles for better regulation of critical infrastructure” and includes a series of regulatory process reforms that must be implemented by public sector bodies with statutory, regulatory, operational or delivery responsibilities for critical infrastructure that supports housing delivery – i.e. energy, water and transport.

The second establishes a mandatory cross-government process for the rapid reporting of court decisions that may affect the delivery of critical national infrastructure. This is intended to ensure early identification of judicial decisions that could influence how future infrastructure projects are planned, assessed or delivered.

Under this new process, all departments and relevant public bodies must monitor court judgments and submit a short report to the senior officials group on infrastructure and the Office of the Attorney General as soon as possible after a decision issues.

Mr Chambers 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.”