From:Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation

The Government has today agreed to a new Risk Appetite Statement to support faster and more efficient delivery of Ireland’s critical infrastructure, specifically projects in the water, energy and transport sectors, and those designated under the Critical Infrastructure Act 2026.

Developed by the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation (DPER), under the Accelerating Infrastructure Report and Action Plan (December 2025), the Risk Appetite Statement marks a significant shift in policy relating to risk-management for critical public investment projects. It establishes, for the first time, a clear framework setting out the level and type of risk the Government is prepared to accept in order to deliver critical infrastructure more quickly.

Speaking today at a public conference on infrastructure hosted by DPER, the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, Jack Chambers T.D., said:

“Development timelines for important infrastructure projects have in many cases approximately doubled compared to the development cycles typical just 20 years ago. For example, a small Wastewater Treatment Project in Ireland is taking 7 to 10 years. This is 4 to 5 years longer than similar sized projects in other EU Member States.

“For too long, excessive caution and slow decision-making have delayed progress on projects that are essential to meeting the needs of the public and our economy – for improving quality of life.

“This new Risk Appetite Statement sends a clear signal – we are prepared to take informed, responsible risks to deliver the infrastructure our country urgently needs, and to deliver it faster and we will back decision makers to get infrastructure delivered.

“We cannot allow delay to become the default. Delay carries its own costs – for housing, for competitiveness, for energy security and the green transition. This framework empowers our public bodies to act with greater confidence, clarity and ambition in delivering results.”

Addressing Delays and Unlocking Delivery

The new approach responds to evidence highlighted by DPER that excessive risk aversion has contributed to timeline delays and higher costs in infrastructure delivery. Project timelines for major energy and transport developments have nearly doubled in recent decades, while legal and regulatory challenges continue to add complexity and uncertainty.

Under this new policy position, the Government is promoting a more balanced and proportionate approach to risk, recognising that delays also carry significant economic, social and environmental costs.

A Shift Towards Managed Risk-Taking

The Risk Appetite Statement confirms that the Government is prepared to take greater, well-managed risks to accelerate delivery timelines and improve outcomes for people in Ireland.

In specific terms, this means that Government is open to risks that will allow for the acceleration of delivery timelines, such as:

Proceeding with decisions in the knowledge of some challenges that could arise through litigation or environmental grounds will be encouraged, and further reforms to legislation or regulations can be targeted to lessen these risks for delivery agencies and regulators.

Departments, agencies and regulators in the key sectors of water, transport and energy have now been tasked with producing aligned sectoral risk appetite statements and each designated project under the Critical Infrastructure Act 2026 is required to have a project-level RAS soon after designation.