The wide-ranging systemic reform contained in the Government's 30-point plan is desperately needed but the slow political pay-off is a big issue that could stifle momentum
The plan to accelerate infrastructure projects contains 30 "actions" which, if all are delivered, would indeed do much to speed the delivery of vital developments in areas such as water, energy, roads and housing delivery.
But implementing this will be a long road for the Government, involving multiple new pieces of legislation, facing down interest groups, banging heads together in the public services and an endless focus on trying to keep up momentum.
And the political reward will be slow. Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers and his colleagues will get some credit if the plan gets off the ground, but the actual pay-off, in terms of projects being completed, will take time to emerge.
Nonetheless, unlike the commissions on tax and housing, it has immediate political support. What is different this time is the pressure on the Government from voters - notably on housing - and also big investors.
The plan, drawn up by a group made up of private sector appointees, chaired by former Glen Dimplex chief executive Sean O'Driscoll and senior public servants, is mercifully short of the endless regurgitation of things that are happening already typical of such official documents.
It has three key areas of action: reforming legal processes, improving regulation and reforming co-ordination and delivery across the public service.
However, implementation is not going to be easy.
The plan to reform legal processes and change the incentives around judicial reviews - in particular will face pushback and almost certain legal challenge.
The Coalition has a tricky course to navigate between Ireland's EU directives and earlier court decisions as it seeks to make it more difficult and more expensive for people to take legal challenges.
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Simplifying consenting processes for projects from State agencies - some big projects have to deal with seven or eight different processes - is more under Government control, though there will be an element of herding cats here.
Making regulations less complex - another objective of the plan - is something successive governments have tried to too. There is a long-standing "better regulation" process, but it will require what one senior public servant called a "whack-a mole" approach - the work will never end.
Getting the public sector to work more efficiently together is self-evidently vital and given the housing crisis it is remarkable that "co-ordination" between departments, agencies and local authorities is still seen as a priority to be achieved.
There are some old favourites too, such as the need for more modern methods of construction - referenced in multiple strategies - and making more State land available for construction - an issue the Land Development Agency has so clearly struggled with.
The culmination of all these problems is that is can take seven to 10 years to deliver a small wastewater treatment plant, five to six years for a basic electricity substation and 15 years for a new road. Cycle and bus lanes require thousands of pages of regulatory documents. This is now so chronic that it endangers economic and social development.
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In short, Ireland has ended up in a cul de sac in terms of development for many reasons. This plan can make a difference in addressing that.
It is a question of whether its implementation can take on real momentum - and politically the slow pay-off is an issue here.
It needs to change the mindset across the public service from one that emphasises box-ticking and trying to avoid legal challenge to one that focuses more on getting things done.
Moving the dial to a sufficient degree is the big challenge - and it needs to move far enough to bring more certainty and, crucially, lead to a flow of projects through the systems, guaranteeing a stable and skilled workforce and sufficient expertise in the system.
Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael avoided this kind of focused reform in their last period in government - waiting three years for a new Planning Act, which we are now told is not enough - and this is the challenge facing this administration.
It will be grinding and difficult work, but it desperately needs to be done.