The Dublin Chamber President is calling on the Government to finally deliver key infrastructure and secure the city’s future.

Eoghan Quigley told Newstalk Breakfast that there is a “long list” of priority needs in Dublin and the greater Dublin area.

“There’s transport infrastructure projects like Metrolink, DART+, Coastal North, Luas Finglas, you know, these things have been on development plans for decades,” he said.

“We need them to commence this year and move forward.

“Dublin’s on the cusp of water shortages - that can’t be tolerated.

“Projects such as the Midlands-Eastern connection project must be moved forward, the electricity grid is creaking so EirGrid's project to lift that up needs to be completed.”

The proposed entrance to Tara Street MetroLink. It will have two entrances, one north and
south of the station, and will connect with the Irish Rail station

Mr Quigley said housing is also one of the biggest issues the county is struggling with.

“The ridiculous frictions do need to be taken out of the system,” he said.

“We need to be moving on, planning, more heights – just take the restrictions and a lot of the unnecessary regulations out of it.”

'In a good place'

However, Mr Quigley said that “the country is in a good place” at the moment.

“I’m coming at things now with a real sense of hope that with that strong Government and with an urgency that we do have to control what we can control, that we can get on with things and just get past all of this noise,” he said.

“There’s a lot of populist noise, which really distracts from getting things done... I’m referring to general narratives where people love to focus in on the negatives.

“For example, the headlines in the paper today on Johnny Ronan getting the planning permission for the tallest building in Dublin – I think that’s a wonderful story.”

Property developer and businessman Johnny Ronan pictured at the official opening of the Convention Centre Dublin, 07-09-2010. Image: Laura Hutton/RollingNews

According to Mr Quigley, housing density is contributing to the current crisis.

“Dublin is a very low-rise city,” he said.

“I spend lots of time in the likes of New York and London; every time I come back to Dublin it feels almost like a village.”

Mr Quigley said that the Government must embrace these “brave decisions” in order to move forward.

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Main image: Grafton Street Dublin City Centre