Letters

‘Threats to Irish competitiveness’

The continued lopsided development of the country is in nobody’s long-term interests

Wed Feb 14 2024 - 00:12

A chara, – I am writing in response to Cliff Taylor’s opinion piece “Power and water are the two threats to Irish competitiveness that no one is talking about” (February 10th). Your columnist’s argument linking immigration and population growth to the challenges faced in setting up factories due to difficulties accessing the electricity grid warrants challenge.

The grid is certainly in grave trouble and demand is at significant risk of exceeding the ability of the system to meet supply. However, contrary to Cliff Taylor’s assertion, the difficulties faced by the grid do not arise “in large part” because of population growth and “inward migration”.

Central Statistics Office metered demand figures from 2016 to 2022 reveal a mere 0.6 per cent increase in household electricity demand despite significant population growth of 8.1 per cent between those two census years.

The real culprit behind the strain on the electricity grid lies in the stratospheric increase in demand from data centres, which surged by 256 per cent during the same period.

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Immigrants did not cause these issues. It is crucial to have a clear analysis of the root causes of our problems so that we can hold accountable those responsible for the mismanagement of the grid. – Is mise,

Senator LYNN BOYLAN,

Sinn Féin,

Leinster House,

Dublin 2.

Sir, – Cliff Taylor warns that infrastructure constraints are threatening our ability to attract big investors to Ireland, and that major projects to serve Dublin and the East Coast must proceed.

The real constraint on our economy is our overreliance on the Dublin region and our failure to develop our regions.

Dublin has already reached the sustainable limits of its expansion. Its infrastructure is now overstressed and creaking at the seams. By trying to force most economic activity into Dublin, we are holding the country and the economy back from reaching its potential.

Under the National Planning Framework, the State is supposed to pursue a policy of balanced regional development. This would mean that we invest in the infrastructure required to build up the populations of our regional cities.

If we pursued this policy, we could alleviate the stress on Dublin’s infrastructure and create a national economy that is stronger and more resilient than one that is over-reliant on one city.

In practice, the State finds it difficult to take a long-term view and remains wedded to the idea that the economy and Dublin are one.

A good example is the proposal to raise the cap on passenger numbers at Dublin Airport, which itself is at capacity, as are the roads, electricity and water infrastructure that serve it, and the communities that surround it, with the metro at least a decade away.

We have other major airports, in particular Shannon, which have plenty of spare capacity. A rail link to Shannon is included in the Strategic Rail Review.

Travelling by rail to an airport is standard across the EU and we could have this solution in under five years for less than €200 million and expand its catchment significantly.

We also recently learned that, in response to new ESRI projections that the population will grow by an additional 300,000 by 2030, the Government plans to amend the National Planning Framework so that it provides for 100,000 new homes in Dublin.

Why must all of our growing population live in Dublin?

Under the National Planning Framework the population of Limerick city is supposed to grow by 50 per cent by 2040. Given its advantages in terms of strategic infrastructure, Limerick is the ideal location to build a regional city of scale, but there is no plan to achieve the target set for Limerick.

This makes no sense. The unexpected population increase provides a rare opportunity to rebalance our regions.

We should take this opportunity rather than compounding Dublin’s problems and constraining our economy.

The continued lopsided development of the country is in nobody’s long-term interests. Rebalancing Ireland will benefit everyone who lives on the island of Ireland, including those in Dublin. – Yours, etc,

BRIAN LEDDIN TD,

Green Party,

Limerick City,

Leinster House,

Dublin 2.