CIVIL SERVANTS ARE to be explicitly encouraged by the government to “take risks” to accelerate the delivery of major construction and infrastructure projects, Public Expenditure Minister Jack Chambers has said.

Speaking at the Association of Consulting Engineers of Ireland conference in Croke Park this morning, the minister said “risk aversion is holding us back” and argued that the State needed to move away from a system dominated by “multiple layers of process” and excessive bureaucracy.

Chambers said the government would publish new “risk appetite statements” aimed at signalling to public servants and decision-makers that they should prioritise delivery and speed over overly cautious administrative procedures.

“It hasn’t happened before that we’ve told them to take risks,” Chambers said during an interview session after his address.

“We’ve actually said upgrade your risk appetite to promote speed and delivery over everything else you’ve been doing.”

The comments come as the government attempts to accelerate housing and infrastructure projects amid mounting pressure over delays to transport, water and energy developments.

Chambers defended the government’s €275 billion capital spending programme out to 2035, describing it as “the largest per-capita building programme of any EU member state”.

He insisted that infrastructure spending would not be raided to cover overruns in current expenditure.

“Capital expenditure lines cannot be compromised by poor financial management within Government departments,” Chambers said.

The minister acknowledged that in previous economic downturns capital projects were often the first area to face cuts.

“We’re paying the price for that today,” Chambers said.

He added that the government was maintaining €4 billion in unallocated capital funding to incentivise delivery agencies in sectors including housing, transport, water and energy.

The minister repeatedly returned to the theme of reducing bureaucracy and accelerating delivery timelines, arguing that Ireland’s planning and approval systems had become excessively risk-averse.

“We are changing the system entirely and placing a much greater risk appetite at the heart of decision-making in the public service,” Chambers told attendees.

He cited the removal of an “external assurance process” within infrastructure approval guidelines as an example of reforms already under way, claiming it had cut 26 weeks from the timeline for the Waterford Wastewater Treatment Plant project.

He also said changes to approval systems had allowed Uisce Éireann to bring forward the Greater Dublin Drainage Project by 12 months, from late 2032 to 2031.

Chambers argued that delays caused by judicial reviews and overlapping regulatory checks were contributing to rising costs and slower delivery.

“The cost of delay is actually impacting our overall ability to deliver projects more efficiently and at a better cost,” Chambers said.

Chambers said the government was also pursuing “regulatory simplification” and reducing what he described as unnecessary duplication within the planning and approvals process.

“It’s easy to create more rules and add more process and tick more boxes,” he said.

“But we have an obligation to question existing layers and see whether they’re fit for purpose.”

He also confirmed that a new national procurement strategy would be brought to the government within weeks, with planned reforms to public works contracts and dispute resolution mechanisms aimed at speeding up delivery and encouraging more firms to tender for State projects.

Environmental and planning litigation also came under scrutiny during the discussion, with Chambers saying judicial reviews had created “a massive growth” in delays and uncertainty around major projects.

He confirmed the State was seeking to reduce legal obstacles through the proposed Critical Infrastructure Bill and other reforms.

Modular homes

Separately, Chambers said the government had yet to fully consider the local property tax implications of planned exemptions for modular homes built in back gardens.

The comments come after Revenue confirmed that modular homes would be liable for local property tax in their own right and would require a separate Eircodes.

Asked whether that risked undermining the government’s plan to exempt such developments from development contribution charges, Chambers said the issue would have to be assessed further.

“We still have to publish the wider guidance around how that will work in the context of modular units,” Chambers said.

“There hasn’t yet been detailed engagement with respect to the local property tax, but we’ll have to assess that over the period ahead.”

He said the first step for the government was finalising guidance around exempt developments, after which Revenue and the Department of Finance would examine the taxation implications.

The government has indicated it wants to encourage the development of modular homes as part of wider efforts to increase housing supply, with proposals to include them under the rent-a-room relief scheme, allowing homeowners to earn up to €14,000 tax-free annually.