The National Development Plan would not be completed until 2013 unless funding levels were significantly increased, the Institution of Engineers of Ireland (IEI) has warned.
The institution, in a submission to Government on a mid-term review of the NDP, highlighted delays in the plan.
It said given the progress achieved to date, and the increase in activity feasible from the end of this year, delivery of some key infrastructural projects could run six to seven years late.
The NDP is a seven-year plan from 2000 to 2006 involving an investment of €51.5 billion in 1999 money terms of public, EU and private funds.
The IEI said the vision of the NDP was to ensure that Ireland would remain competitive in the global international marketplace, but expressed concern about what it described as the continuing deterioration in Ireland's competitiveness ranking internationally.
It urges Government to "incorporate in the mid-term review of the NDP measures to redress the infrastructure deficit, one of the main causes of this deterioration".
It said the conditions were now right to address this infrastructure deficit - the capacity and productivity of Ireland's construction industry was at an all-time high, construction cost inflation had reduced to long-term average levels and the cost of borrowing was at an all-time low.
The IEI called for special divisions of Bord Pleanála and the High Court to be established to address planning objections and legal challenges to vital national development schemes.
This method would be used to fast-track projects of national interests. The IEI believed the current planning process itself contributed to attracting unwarranted objections to infrastructure projects, inordinate delays and significant increases in cost.
The current planning process and the involvement of a number of different authorities "leads to overlap and potential for confusion, which may in turn invite legal challenge".
The IEI also urged that the review be used to "progress implementation of the plan with greater urgency than heretofore".
The vision and enthusiasm which gave rise to the NDP had waned due to the short-term reduction in economic growth and tighter public finances.
The IEI, the largest professional body in the country with 20,000 members, called for a better balance between the rights to private property and the interest of society at large.
"More account should be taken of the constitutional requirement relating to the common good in Government policy, statutory instruments and in planning and judicial decisions relating to infrastructure development."
On funding, it recommended that where public funding was not available, consideration should be given to increased borrowing, charges, taxation, development levies and public-private partnerships.
Key infrastructure projects which have emerged since the NDP was prepared should be included for planning, design and programming, e.g. the Dublin Metro system, the provision of park-and-ride facilities and projects identified under the National Health Strategy.
It also recommended three to five years of rolling budgets for departments with major infrastructure projects; a review and update of the NDP every two years; and national spending on research and development be increased from 1.4 per cent of GDP to over 3 per cent by 2009.