49. Deputy Tony McCormack asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation for a report on the Best Practice KPI Guidance for Regulators of Critical Infrastructure; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51521/26]

Last week my Department published Best Practice Key Performance Indicator (KPI) Guidance for Regulators of Critical Infrastructure.

An important part of accelerating the delivery of infrastructure and to realise the benefits of infrastructure delivery is providing a transparent, predictable and effective regulatory environment. Having clarity and transparency on how long regulatory processes take and the context within which regulatory bodies operate is important. This clarity is important for three reasons:

Firstly, for understanding the impact of reforms introduced,

Secondly, for ensuring resources are allocated efficiently, and

Thirdly, for providing certainty to stakeholders in the regulatory space.

This Best Practice KPI Guidance sets out best practice for regulators of critical infrastructure in setting and tracking KPIs and other metrics to support clarity, coordination and standardisation in the regulatory environment for infrastructure delivery.

The Guidance aims to provide a tool for regulators of critical infrastructure in streamlining processes and monitoring the impact of regulatory reforms.

The Guidance outlines:

• Best practice principles for setting KPI targets.

• The type of KPIs and metrics that can assist in providing clarity and improve the understanding of the impacts of regulatory reforms.

• Best practice reporting guidance for the KPIs and metrics.

The publication of this guidance supports the completion of Action 9 of the Accelerating Infrastructure Report and Action Plan, which necessitates the development and issuance of Government guidance to regulatory bodies on improving the coordination and standardisation of regulatory approvals for critical infrastructure, incorporating key performance metrics.

This guidance supports Circular 18/2026 - Circular on Principles for Better Regulation for Critical Infrastructure, which calls for fixed timelines for every regulatory process and the tracking and measuring of timelines for processes and consents, supported by appropriate KPIs.

The Best Practice KPI Guidance for Regulators of Critical Infrastructure is available on my Department’s website.