Government infrastructure plan lays out an ambitious blueprint to solve problems that it has created itself
Government infrastructure plan lays out an ambitious blueprint to solve problems that it has created itself - The Labour Party
Labour Housing Spokesperson Conor Sheehan has cautiously welcomed the Governments Accelerating Infrastructure Report and Action Plan and said that it sets out an ambitious blueprint to solve infrastructure problems that the Government has created itself.
Deputy Sheehan said:
“This infrastructure report is ambitious and I welcome Governments commitment to publish a critical infrastructure Bill to provide a statutory framework for infrastructure and to reform the consenting process.
“However the devil will be in the implementation both for the agencies and more significantly for the Ministers involved.
“Ministers must take back responsibility for running their Departments and drive through the necessary reforms and they will be judgement by their Departmental plans.
“In relation to the area of housing I welcome the creation of a duty for state bodies to cooperate in making land available and accessible for critical infrastructure but this could be done by giving the LDA and other state agencies the power to compel state bodies to transfer land. This will not work without a strong legislative underpinning.
“We also need to see the National planning statement for critical infrastructure urgently as the current regulatory system as it applies to infrastructure is not fit for purpose.
“In relation to the increased role of private developers in providing developer led infrastructure, we must ensure that the mistakes of the Celtic Tiger are not repeated again.
“Government still have not announced who will head up the Strategic Housing Activation Office and the fact that they refuse to give this office statutory powers to unblock housing delivery blockages indicates to me that Government are still unserious about meaningfully tackling the blockages and institutional inertia at the heart of this.”