The Irish Times view on progressing State investment: the opportunity to do more

The latest update on the delivery of the National Development Plan from the Minster for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe, released late last week, makes one thing clear; money is not the problem. Spending by the Government on capital projects such as schools, hospitals and roads is at an all-time high, with €13 billion being made available for such projects in 2024.

Getting things done is a different story. Donohoe called on his colleagues to be more proactive in delivering projects. He also said that wearing one of his other hats – chair of the Project Ireland 2040 Delivery Board – he had called a meeting in January to address bottlenecks, including the backlog in planning and the restructuring of An Bord Pleanála to An Coimisiún Pleanála.

The lack of any detail as to what was agreed in this meeting speaks volumes about the difficulty in finding solutions to the issues that are holding up the pace of construction.

However, a report released by the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council (NCPC), also late last week, makes one good suggestion on how to make progress in construction.

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The NCPC – which advises the Government – looked at labour supply in the sector and noted that fewer people work in this area at the moment than did in the Celtic Tiger era. The emigration of skilled workers post the crash and the related fall- off in the numbers choosing careers in construction were contributory factors.

Much of the slack has been taken up by migrant workers, whose numbers have doubled since 2021 to 27,500. Many come from the European Economic Area and can move freely to Ireland, but a significant number come from countries such as Brazil, India, Philippines and South Africa through the employment permits system.

The NCPC believes that using the employment permit system to increase labour supply can be a part of the solution in the short-term. It may prove a politically difficult idea to sell in the atmosphere surrounding migration, but it reflects the reality that Ireland is far from full.