The director general of Engineers Ireland, Damien Owens, has said that the organisation believes we should maintain a greater focus on upgrading key areas of infrastructure and that should have been central to Budget 2024. This was needed, he said, to boost the country’s attractiveness as a destination for investment and to support future growth and society.

Step change

Owens said: “We applaud the announcement of a €14bn Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund to support future capital projects and a separate Future Ireland Fund designed to help the state meet its additional costs in the years ahead. This amounts to a step change in how infrastructural spending is planned and is a both a significant and positive development.

“However, while households will rightly welcome the interventions contained within this budget to tackle the cost of living in the short-term, this Budget required a greater rebalancing towards the kind of infrastructural spending that could permanently reduce housing, energy, transport, and other costs to households.

"Amid fluctuating fuel costs and geopolitical uncertainties, one of this country’s best hopes to safeguard future growth is to develop the kind of infrastructure that will position it as one of the most attractive destinations in the world for direct investment.

Modern methods of housing construction

“The lack of availability of adequate transport, water and wastewater, telecommunications, and energy infrastructure often constraints housing delivery, all of which need to be urgently addressed. Additionally, specific funding should be earmarked to transition to modern methods of housing construction, which focus on off-site manufacturing and modular developments, that have the capability to greatly accelerate the delivery of much-needed homes.

“Similarly, the tight margins between energy supply and demand that were the source of concern last winter are expected to re-emerge in the coming months. Investment is needed to accelerate the development of offshore wind energy capacity and other renewable energy sources, while the government should also support the provision of an LNG (Liquified Natural Gas) and regasification units to provide energy security and prevent possible future disruptions to gas supply. The threat of power warnings to electricity supply, would seriously damage Ireland’s international reputation.

“Now is the time to make such investments and transition Ireland into an infrastructural world leader, paving the way for economic growth for the decades to come.”