The Government is planning to speed-up its own approval process for major transport, energy and water projects by 20 weeks.
Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers will tell his Cabinet colleagues that the investments will no longer require an approval by external consultants in the early stages of development.
Instead, they will undergo an assessment by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.
The change is designed to speed-up the delivery of large investments valued at between €200 million and €500m.
Later in the approval process, major projects will no longer need ministerial approval and can instead go ahead following the consent of the relevant accounting officer within a Government department.
The changes are the latest in a series of steps intended to speed-up the delivery of infrastructure projects.
The Coalition has commenced a review of legal fees charged for environmental cases.
It has also expanded the National Development Finance Agency to support faster delivery of capital projects.
Speaking on his way into Cabinet, Minister for Finance and Tánaiste Simon Harris said the changes will mean "cutting bureaucracy, reducing red tape and making sure the lag between an announcement and a shovel in the ground is significantly reduced".
He said the proposal being put forward could see projects save up to 20 weeks in terms of their duration.
Plans to bolster Defence Forces
The Cabinet will also hear an update on the implementation on the recommendations of the Commission on the Defence Forces, which aim to modernise and re-equip the army, the naval service and the air corps.
Minister for Defence Helen McEntee will also tell colleagues of a new strategic plan that sets out priority actions to boost recruitment and retention, improve equipment and working environments, revitalise the reserve Defence Forces and progress legislative reform.
Meanwhile, a plan to extend the Living City Initiative to new towns around the country will also be outlined by Minister for Finance Simon Harris.
The initiative allows property owners to claim tax relief on the cost of refurbishing or converting residential or commercial buildings and bring them into use for residents.
It currently only applies to Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford but will now also include Athlone, Sligo, Letterkenny, Drogheda and Dundalk.
The minister is also extending the scheme to 2030 to help revitalise urban areas by tacking dereliction and vacancy.
Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport Patrick O'Donovan will outline details of the new Basic Income for the Arts scheme.
The scheme provides some artists with a weekly payment of €325 and was first rolled out in 2022 when 8,000 people applied.
2,000 artists were randomly selected to receive the payments.
Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan will also seek Government approval for An Garda Síochána to enter an agreement on co-operation and information exchange with the Colombian National Police.
There is already a garda liaison officer based in the Irish Embassy in Colombia who liaises with law enforcement there as part of the ongoing effort to target transnational crime.
The minister will tell colleagues Ireland is strongly reliant on international co-operation to successfully combat international crime and terrorism and a formal agreement with the Colombian police will be beneficial to this work.
