Realising Project Ireland 2040’s vision

Government must keep pace with technological change in terms of policy development. Technologies that are going to be vital to delivering Project Ireland 2040 have not yet been invented. 

A focused and detailed delivery plan underpinning Project Ireland 2040’s vision is key to repairing infrastructure’s expenditure deficit and shaping the future.

The 116 billion earmarked for investment under Project Ireland 2040 could be volatile to market changes. If there are any adverse market changes, be it from geo-politics, Brexit, or anything else, history tells us that infrastructure suffers.

That’s why we need a cross-departmental focus on prioritising projects that will deliver the greatest economic benefit, both in the relatively short term and in implementing the broader long-term vision.

Creating an independent body to oversee the delivery of such a large-scale investment programme would provide the necessary focus to ensure success.

Outside this need, the ambitions of the National Planning Framework (NPF) and the National Development Plan (NDP) will face a number of other challenges.

Skill shortages

Levels of skilled labour in areas like construction are around 50% of what they were a decade ago, and, without a concerted effort by both Government and the private sector, there’s unlikely to be a huge influx or return of skilled labour.

Within the NDP, a large number of projects are in the planning stage, so, on the positive side, there is time to encourage and fund new skills. 

Wider macro-economic issues also have a bearing on attracting sufficient skills for such a project, including housing availability, living costs and accessibility to healthcare and education.

The speed of innovation

Government must keep pace with technological change in terms of policy development. Technologies that are going to be vital to delivering Project Ireland 2040 have not yet been invented.

Solving infrastructural problems does not always need significant investment in new construction projects – the State can leverage already-developed smart technologies. 

Smart infrastructure technologies can deliver lower cost solutions, for example, artificial Intelligence to augment predictive traffic controls systems could save significant travel time and reduce congestion. Technology evolution and innovation in the private sector can be harnessed by government provided policy making is open to this approach.

Avoiding a boom-bust cycle

We’re at an interesting cross-roads – with Europe’s fastest-growing economy, but increased uncertainty in the form of Brexit, geo-politics and wider technological disruption.

Businesses are grappling with complex and challenging questions; how will Brexit impact us, what will wage inflation look like over the next few years? Will the necessary skills be available? How will we fund our infrastructure gap? Can Government policy respond to the pace of technological change fast enough? 

Our economic forecasts, at the moment, are positive, but we need to make sure we can maintain a steady macro-economic environment, and avoid a boom-bust cycle.

Although the majority of Project Ireland 2040 will be funded centrally, an innovative approach to private finance must be adopted which goes beyond established public private partnerships.

Overall, there’s reason to be very optimistic about Ireland’s economic future. Through the NPF and the NDP, Ireland can continue to realise its ambitions and shape a successful future as we look to 2040.