The Government is mulling big moves to try to speed up the delivery of vital infrastructure. It will soon receive the final report of a taskforce set up to advise on how to accelerate the whole process, chaired by former Glen Dimplex boss Sean O’Driscoll.

If the Coalition fails here, then it is no exaggeration to say its whole term will be in peril. Housing and investment targets will go by the board and public services will suffer. No pressure, so.

Politically this will not be easy. In theory, everyone is in favour of big improvements in power, water, transport and housing.

But in practice those directly affected – by big construction projects and the operation of whatever is being built – will object. And the strength of these objections can often, politically, be more pressing than the overriding need to get things done.

It is estimated to take around twice as long now to deliver a big project as it did 20 years ago. This is largely the result of a raft of new rules introduced, many driven by European Union legislation and Ireland’s interpretation of this. It has turned planning rules, in the words of the Supreme Court, into “an untidy patchwork, confusing almost to the point of being impenetrable”.

And this has meant objectors could always find a way to argue that – in meeting one or other part of the extraordinary obligations put upon them – public bodies had failed to follow the correct procedure.

The number of judicial reviews to planning decisions have ballooned – reaching 147 last year. Allowing for two or three days in court each, we have a legal industry around this that could now be worth €15 million to €20 million a year.

A clear example of all this is the planned Greater Dublin Drainage Scheme,........

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