Paul Hosford: Il governo dice che non sono loro, siamo noi. Ma è davvero questo il motivo per cui non si costruisce nulla?

Separate from discussing whether the role of judicial reviews are overblown as a convenient excuse, this was the part I found most interesting:

>Which is why heads (including that of this writer) were turned by many in the west of Dublin when the sectoral plan was announced. Because the Dart+ South West plan, which would electrify around 20km of train lines from Celbridge to Heuston and into Drumcondra through the Phoenix Park tunnel, has been delayed.

>Originally due to be operational by the end of the decade, this week’s document suggests it won’t begin construction until 2030 at the earliest. That is despite the plan having planning permission, facing no judicial reviews or objections, and running through the heart of two strategic development zones, Adamstown and Clonburris, which are due to deliver tens of thousands of new homes in the coming years.

>Indeed, on the day after the plan was published, developer Evara trumpeted that it had received planning permission for 877 new homes in Adamstown, close to the train station, which will “benefit from the forthcoming Dart+ South West”. Maybe, but not for a while.

>The current train line can carry 5,000 people a day, but has overcrowded rush hour services and no weekend trains, but thousands of homes have been planned to go alongside existing communities.

>**Asked why the plan has been delayed, Mr O’Brien said that he has “to manage the projects within the capital that I have, to be realistic” but said that both Dart+ South West and the Finglas extension of the Luas “might” begin next year, that timelines in the document are “indicative”, which begs the question why they exist at all if they are fungible.**

>If public objection and legal delay are such a big issue, why not then take the lower-hanging fruit? Between cost, climate, and development, it seems counterintuitive to prioritise our most complex projects, for which the Government needs new laws and regulations to even bring to the table, over things that should have been done years ago.

If the Metro is likely to be delayed by 18+ months, why isn’t the Government using that funding for projects that can be commenced now?

Instead its delaying projects that can commence immediately ‘due to lack of funding’, while tying up funding in projects that can’t be commenced for the foreseeable.

Politicians keep insisting there’s no lack of will for political projects, and instead the problem is judicial reviews – which doesn’t in any explain why its now almost 3 decades since the first plan for a Dublin underground was mooted at Government, nor why new road infrastructure seems to struggle comparatively rarely at progressing through the planning and legal system.

Political will could speed up the court system by e.g. setting up fast track planning courts. Political will could refine existing legislation and planning rules, rather than create the biggest piece of legislation in recent history – because adding more complexity and complication is obviously the answer.

Blaming Judicial Reviews for all that ails us is an easy out for politicians, so be wary of politicians and pundits who parrot the lowest common demoninator argument.