Ireland’s infrastructure is catching up to its EU neighbours, the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council has said. 

Despite this, a new report by the budget watchdog also outlines significant shortfalls in four key areas;  housing, healthcare, transport and electricity.

The report’s author, Niall Conroy, said the Government should try and get better value for money on existing projects. 

“The Government is investing at a reasonably high level at the moment,” he said. 

“So, higher than European countries as a share of national income. 

“The question is, how much value are we getting for that? Are we getting all the infrastructure and the projects that we need for that money? 

“So, obviously if stuff is delivered well, on time and within budget, you get a lot more goods for the same amount of spending by the Government.” 

Two wind turbines against the backdrop of a rising sun. Image: Ian Dyball / Alamy Stock Photo

Mr Conroy said one of the biggest barriers to delivering projects has been the planning  system - and the new Planning and Development Act may change that.

“What we do know is that there is a lot of room for improvement there at the moment,” he said. 

“Because the planning system as it is causes long delays and pushes up costs. 

“If the system facilitates lots of objections and judicial reviews, that will make it much more costly to deliver the infrastructure that citizens need. 

“So, there is the potential that this could significantly improve how we deliver infrastructure in Ireland.” 

The Planning and Development Act 2024 was signed into law by President Higgins on October 17th.

Main image: A construction worker at a site on George's Street Dublin. Picture by: Sasko Lazarov/RollingNews. 

Reporting by Teena Gates and James Wilson.