The Government’s plan to speed up the construction of badly needed infrastructure will be a make or break test for the State, experts say.
Reforming judicial review rules, streamlining regulation, better co-ordination between Government agencies and winning public support were among the key planks of a plan to accelerate public construction projects published by Jack Chambers, the Minister for Public Expenditure.
The proposals will be a “springboard for infrastructure delivery” or mark the gravestone of the Republic’s ambitions to solve its housing crisis and tackle climate change, Shane Dempsey, director general of the Association of Consulting Engineers Ireland, warned following the news.
“Some are short-term policy changes that can be made tomorrow, such as changes to procurement processes and the introduction of multiannual budgets,” he noted.
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But laws needed for other measures may not be passed in this Government’s lifetime, so its success depends on commitment from successive administrations, Mr Dempsey said.
“Full and swift” implementation of the plan is crucial to avoid further delays, Stephen Garvey, chief executive of housebuilder, Glenveagh Properties, argued.
“The stalling of progress must end now with this action plan,” he said.
The Government’s €270 billion National Development Plan aims to end bottlenecks in water, energy supplies, transport and other services needed for new housing, while catering for a growing population and economy.
Mr Chambers’ Accelerating Infrastructure – Report and Action Plan aims to cut the planning and legal delays that hamstring efforts to build the infrastructure needed to meet these challenges.
Mr Garvey was among 25 executives who signed a statement from business lobby Ibec calling for an end to infrastructure roadblocks.
They welcomed plans to win public support for big projects and to reform judicial reviews saying: “Too many projects benefiting society are held up by the actions of the few”.
Signatories included John Collison, president of payments business, Stripe, who called in The Irish Times recently for Government to take control of infrastructure building.
They were joined by Anne O’Leary, head of tech giant Meta’s Irish business; Dalton Philips, chief executive of Greencore; Gene Murtagh, chief executive of Kingspan; Jim Mintern, chief executive of CRH; Lynne Embleton, chief executive of Aer Lingus; and Michael O’Flynn, chairman of builders O’Flynn Group.
Builders cautioned that they needed clear timelines and certainty to allow them commit to big projects. Andrew Brownlee, chief executive of the Construction Industry Federation (CIF) pointed out that without this detail “investment planning becomes impossible”.
“The recent postponement of projects like the Dart Plus Southwest project demonstrates the unpredictability in the delivery of public infrastructure in Ireland,” he said.
Mr Brownlee added this happened despite the project having planning permission and being needed to support new home building.
“Delays like this make public procurement in Ireland unattractive and costly,” he said.
