Despite the development of the M50, Luas, Dart and the Port Tunnel, Dublin has outgrown its infrastructure and needs a €70 billion investment in housing, transport, water and energy (over 15 years) to catch up.
That’s according to KPMG.
While the figure was used to showcase the consultancy’s Dublin 2040 report, published on Wednesday, highlighting what Dublin-based businesses see as the city’s strengths and challenges, it wasn’t actually contained in the report.
KPMG’s corporate finance partner Hazel Cryan, however, told The Irish Times that its €70 billion estimate accompanying the report was derived from an analysis of various Government strategies in housing, transport and other sectors.
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“We’ve applied an extrapolation out to 2040 based on those reports and what the known big projects are...it’s very much an estimate,” she said.
It breaks down as follows: €30 billion is needed to upgrade the city’s transport network as per the Greater Dublin Area Transport Strategy, which includes mega projects like the proposed MetroLink underground rail project.
A further €26 billion is earmarked for housing, mainly on the social and affordable projects and targets contained in current Housing for All strategy and beyond.
KPMG also reckons that a further €10 billion is needed to upgrade the city’s water infrastructure (which is highlighted as a key block on housing development).
An additional €6 billion is also necessary to upgrade the city’s energy infrastructure to meet the growing demand for electricity and to support the transition to a low-carbon economy, it says.
While a further €500 million is also needed to upgrade the city’s climate risk and flood defence system.
All in, a hefty outlay to get the city fit for purpose and to align the capital’s infrastructure with the positive trends in population and employment.
KPMG’s Dublin 2040 report, which alongside the estimate, was based on a survey 300 Dublin-based businesses and what they see as the key priorities.
Unsurprisingly the survey found almost 9 in 10 (87 per cent) believe Dublin is doing poorly in the area of housing, reflecting what the report describes as “the persistent and ubiquitous nature of the issue”.
Housing is flagged as the top concern with 60 per cent of businesses seeing affordable accommodation as a critical infrastructure issue ahead of healthcare (20 per cent), public transport (15 per cent) and technology (5 per cent).
“Dublin is beyond an inflection point in a number of critical areas,” said Ryan McCarthy, managing partner at KPMG in Ireland.
