- Ireland is investing more in infrastructure than ever before (≈ €15bn in 2025, ~5% of GNI*).
- Despite this, project lifecycles (from inception to delivery) have lengthened significantly.
- The report, based on stakeholder consultation and public engagement, identifies barriers to infrastructure delivery.
- Focus sectors: electricity, transport, and water (seen as foundational for wider social and economic development).
- This is an initial assessment feeding into a final report and Action Plan to be published in autumn 2025.
2. Capital Investment Trends
Investment nearly quadrupled over the last decade.
Key achievements:
- Water: Uisce Éireann ramped annual investment from €300m (2014) → €1.4bn (2024).
- Energy: Renewable capacity up 50% since 2022.
- Transport: Major road bypasses, 660km of walking routes, 400km cycling lanes, 220km greenways.
- Housing: ~53,000 local authority dwellings since 2021.
- Education: 800+ school projects completed since 2020.
- Health: New ward blocks and National Rehabilitation Hospital redevelopment.
Still, Ireland has a 32% infrastructure gap (IMF) and quality gap of 27%.
Problems persist: planning delays, low construction productivity, labour shortages.
3. Stakeholder Engagement
Involved 50+ stakeholders, two public events, and 170 written submissions.
Consensus: Ireland’s infrastructure delivery model underperforms.
Complaints:
- Overly complex regulatory approvals.
- Rising judicial reviews stalling projects.
- Administrative fragmentation.
- Risk-averse culture in agencies.
Public consultation highlighted:
- Housing shortages, missed climate targets, weakened FDI attractiveness.
- Infrastructure delays seen as systemic, not technical.
4. International Best Practice
Other common law jurisdictions face similar issues (UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, California).
Reforms elsewhere include:
- Fast-tracking projects of national interest.
- Streamlined environmental processes (esp. brownfield).
- Centralised infrastructure authorities.
Ireland is especially disadvantaged: slowest planning/legal system in EU + strict regulatory transposition.
5. Barriers to Infrastructure Delivery
The report identifies 12 key barriers, grouped under regulatory, planning/legal, and internal systems:
1. Public Acceptance – Benefits are diffuse, costs localised → opposition delays projects.
2. Increased Regulatory Burden – Ireland often exceeds EU minimums, leading to duplication and delays.
3. Risk Aversion – Agencies fear litigation, slowing decisions.
4. Rising Judicial Reviews – Up 20% in 2025; widely used to stall projects.
5. Consequences of Reviews – Even minor procedural flaws can derail major projects for years.
6. Uncoordinated Approvals – Overlapping licences/permits, sequential instead of parallel processing.
7. Slow Processes – Internal appraisal stages take too long.
8. Inconsistent Planning Decisions – Outdated/missing guidelines create uncertainty.
9. Weak Prioritisation/Coordination – Agencies can’t balance societal needs with narrow mandates.
10. Procurement Challenges – Declining competition, rigid frameworks, slow tendering.
11. Uncertainty of Funding/Pipeline – Limits capacity building in the sector.
12. Construction Sector Weaknesses – Productivity and skills remain below pre-crisis peaks.
6. Next Steps
A final report and Action Plan will be published in autumn 2025.
It will:
- Propose reforms (legal, institutional, procedural).
- Include case studies showing economic and social costs of delays.
- Assess reforms in peer jurisdictions for applicability.
- Recommend time-bound, actor-specific interventions.
Key Takeaways for Economics Students
- Ireland’s infrastructure gap is not just financial but also procedural and institutional.
- Judicial reviews and regulatory complexity are the biggest bottlenecks.
- Capital is available, but the system struggles to deliver projects efficiently.
- Infrastructure is crucial for competitiveness, FDI, housing, and climate commitments.
- Reform will require balancing accountability and speed, while ensuring environmental obligations are respected.