We know that the explanatory note for this Bill says that its purpose is to allow Government to designate specific infrastructure projects or programmes that it considers to be critical. The Bill does not reference specific projects or programmes. It provides Government with the power to designate projects or programmes as critical infrastructure. Section 3 provides the Government the statutory powers to designate a project as a critical infrastructure project or programme, done in this case by Deputy Chambers as the Minister for public expenditure. In practice, it represents a major shift towards speed and centralised co-ordination in infrastructure delivery. However, there are major concerns with this Bill given the history of infrastructure and the parochial nature of politics in this country. There are many concerns in terms of the reduction in transparency. We have seen pre-legislative scrutiny waived and a limitation on public participation. Overburdening of agencies is another issue. We have seen that MARA is totally overrun given the amount of regulatory work to be done there. It creates opportunities for political influence over project prioritisation. We as a nation have seen the damage political influence has caused when it comes to major infrastructural projects. In my constituency a number of critical pieces of infrastructure simply need to be fast-tracked, which have been neglected over the years. These included the Oilgate to Rosslare motorway, which is the final piece of the jigsaw from Larne to Rosslare Harbour. Rosslare Europort has seen an increase of 350% in freight traffic since Brexit. Families have been left waiting almost two decades for movement and development on this. Their land has been sterilised and stigmatised. I have dealt with families who for the want of 2 yards to maybe build a home on their land have been told it is part of the overall project for the motorway, and I have dealt with people whose homes and businesses have been left. Despite this, these critical pieces of infrastructure have been delayed and delayed. We see the offshore renewable energy potential off the coast of Rosslare. It is critical if we are to meet our 2030 commitments. This week we have seen that if we are to break our dependence on fossil fuels, we need offshore renewable energy as part of critical infrastructure. There is also the area of education and my colleague from Waterford spoke about the South East Technological University. We need the development of the Wexford campus as part of that. The money was made available in 2015 to purchase the site and it was only concluded in the past six months. Wexford is one of the largest counties in Leinster. It is bigger than Waterford or Carlow in population terms but it is left behind. In principle, this Bill is excellent but it leaves the door open to parochial politics whereby certain Ministers can pick certain projects and leave the rest behind.

Sentiment score: -0.02