Around €140 billion will have to be spent on improving transport links and public services in order to protect the economy, leading consultants said today.
With Dublin's port tunnel nearing completion and extra lanes to be added to the M50, a new report warned the Government had to commit to more spending on the roads to improve our quality of life.
A&L Goodbody Consulting said public-private partnership projects should play a major part in building more roads, schools, hospitals and improving public transport.
Peter Brennan, A&L Goodbody Consulting managing director, said Ireland would only remain competitive if standards were improved. "Infrastructure should be seen as an asset and not a drain on Exchequer resources. We should be investing as much as we can prudently afford to underpin the success of the Irish economy," he said.
Goodbody said developing new payment methods for tolls on the M50 was critical to alleviating congestion. It said traffic jams and bottlenecks were costing the economy €2 billion each year.
The report stated: "The economic rationale for the development of motorways is the benefits accrued in terms of time savings. Barrier free tolling must be developed in order to reduce congestion at toll plazas and ensure time savings so the development of these new motorways are not eroded, thus rendering their economic rationale defunct."
A metro from St Stephen's Green to the airport and out to Swords could cost up to €5 billion depending on precise alignment, number of stations, construction duration and regulations on 24-hour tunnelling, the report said. The consultants said planning for additional metro routes should go ahead.
It is thought however it could take 15 years to bring together all the elements of the integrated transport strategy. "The message we have is that this 140m euro investment will have to be available, it's a requirement if we want to keep the economy competitive," Mr Brennan said.