Ireland's infrastructure delivery has been condemned as the slowest in Europe by the Social Democrats, who say Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have presided over years of delays and overruns. The party argues the Government's plan to introduce emergency laws to speed up projects is a long-overdue acknowledgement of failure.

Cian O'Callaghan, the Social Democrats' finance and public expenditure spokesperson, said the coalition's approach has lacked urgency and accountability.

Deputy O'Callaghan said: "According to the Draghi Report on EU competitiveness, Ireland has the slowest regulatory and planning processes in the European Union. This is not a new problem, it is a direct consequence of Fine Gael's 14-year tenure in office.

"It has taken a full year since the last election for this government to produce a plan to address this. Six years have passed since Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael entered office together. This period has been marked by budget overruns, delayed projects, inaction and inertia.

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"Earlier this year, the National Development Plan was published with great fanfare without even listing the projects to be funded. It was a half-baked report that underlines a lack of seriousness and urgency from this government.

"Instead of taking responsibility for its own record of broken promises and lack of delivery, the Government has repeatedly chosen to blame others – the planning system, the courts, the EU and the Opposition. This government shrugs off responsibility for its own record as easily as it shrugs off its pre-election commitments.

"However, the publication of the National Transport plan last week was instructive. Two major public transport projects which have full planning permission, Luas Finglas and Dart+ South West, have been long-fingered until the end of the decade. That delay to critical infrastructure is a deliberate government decision, which will negatively impact both development and tens of thousands of commuters.

"If Ireland is to break free from this cycle of drift, concrete steps must be taken immediately. More planners and judges must be hired to clear bottlenecks in the system and modern technology must be deployed across courts, regulatory bodies, and planning offices.

"At the same time, the timelines for critical transport projects such as DART+ South West and the Luas Green Line extension to Finglas must be brought forward. Delaying these projects is unacceptable when commuters face chronic congestion and inadequate public transport capacity.

"This Government's record is one of drift, delay, and deflection. Ireland cannot afford to remain the slowest country in Europe when it comes to the delivery of critical infrastructure. The time for excuses is over. The time for urgent, decisive action is now."