Ireland’s planning delays are “an area of huge frustration”, according to Infrastructure Minister Jack Chambers, who says internal processes are actively impeding project delivery.
Speaking to Gript outside Government Buildings ahead of this week’s Cabinet meeting, the Fianna Fáil Minister said he would soon bring forward a report aimed at overhauling infrastructure delivery mechanisms.
“I think the ongoing delays we have in the planning system are an area of huge frustration,” he said.
“They’re impeding progress across many of the projects that you’ve seen even in recent weeks.”
Chambers added that work was underway to “cut some of the internal processes” that he argued do not support faster results.
“Part of the separate work I’m doing is to underpin new delivery systems for the delivery of infrastructure across our economy,” he said.
“I’ll bring it forward to report to government shortly…to change how the process of infrastructure delivery works in Ireland.”
Asked about comments by other Ministers on the burden of red tape across housing and industry, Chambers said the Government was “in agreement” on the need for quicker decisions.
“I think there are particular areas which have too much red tape and too much bureaucracy,” he said.
“It slows decision making.”
He added that regulation should serve economic goals and not hinder them.
“We need to regulate for growth in our economy,” he said.
“We need to ensure regulations that we develop and decide upon actually feeds the objectives and outcomes from growth…so I think we need better regulatory balance in the economy and quicker decision making.”
Innovation Minister James Lawless also supported the push for deregulation, calling Ireland “perhaps too” highly regulated.
“I couldn’t agree more,” he said, when asked if he backed the views of other Ministers.
“I think we take too long to do things.”
The Fianna Fáil Minister pointed to research and development funding as a model for more efficient investment, since it currently faces no planning obstacles or judicial reviews.
“It’s money that can be quickly injected into the economy,” he said.
“It can enhance everything from semiconductors, to AI, to data science, right across to pharma, bio, life sciences…all of the sectors that are so critical to our economy and economic success.”
Last week, Enterprise Minister Peter Burke told Gript he was “shocked” by the sheer number of regulators in the country, after not being able to find enough seats for them all at a recent event.
“We have an enormous amount of regulation in this country,” he said.
We need to do things simpler, lighter, faster.”
Burke warned that upcoming alcohol labelling rules could damage vulnerable indigenous producers, and said he wanted to protect jobs above all.
“I look at the prism of protecting jobs,” he said.
“That’s where I come from as Enterprise Minister.”
Mandatory alcohol health warnings were due to come into effect in Ireland from May 2026 under the Public Health (Alcohol) Act. The labels would have warned consumers about liver disease, cancer and pregnancy risks, and include calorie and alcohol content.
However, Tánaiste Simon Harris told the Dáil in May that the deadline for implementation was “under consideration”, citing fears about possible US tariffs.
Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe has also said the labelling rules may need to be “carefully examined again”.
Ultimately, the decision was made to defer that alcohol labelling policy given the current economic climate.
Housing Minister James Browne made similar remarks earlier this month, saying the Government had “tied ourselves in regulatory knots” on housing due to well-meaning but overlapping decisions taken over several years.