The Construction Industry Federation (CIF) has called for a new "Western Economic Corridor" to support more balanced regional development.
CIF president Mr Gerald Purcell said a motorway linking Cork, Limerick and Galway would be a spur to the development of an economic zone "to counter the weight of the eastern region".
Addressing the federation's annual conference, in Galway, he said: "There is an urgent need for more balanced regional development in this country. None of our regional cities are of sufficient size to be a real competition to Dublin. A new approach is needed."
He also warned the Tánaiste, who was attending the conference, that insurance costs were still of serious concern to the construction industry. "Insurance is a huge burden on existing construction companies and is preventing the establishment of new construction companies," he said. "We urgently need a genuine insurance market, which will deliver reasonable rates."
Earlier, Mr Hubert Fitzpatrick, director of housing at CIF, said the industry was likely to deliver 60,000 new homes this year.
He forecast that housing demand would top 50,000 this year and next, though demand was likely to drop towards 45,000 units a year by 2010.
"This level of housing will, in turn, demand a high level of investment in basic infrastructure," he said.
Local authorities in many cases lacked the resources to provide basic infrastructure even where land had been zoned for housing, he said, adding that the Irish Home Builders Association would look at any innovative funding mechanism designed to deliver serviced lands.
The conference also heard calls for the phased introduction of any carbon tax.
Mr Don O'Sullivan, director of main contracting at CIF, said the federation had made a submission to the Department of Finance in response to a consultation paper on the issue. It proposed a lower tax rate of €7.50 per tonne, increasing to €20 per tonne over three to four years, if the Government does decide to introduce such a measure.
He said such a tax would result in higher construction costs and called for a national campaign to raise consumer awareness of the issue.
