Industry leaders at the Guaranteed Irish Construction Forum in Dublin called for Ireland to accelerate delivery of its massive infrastructure commitments, with €275bn in announced investments hanging in the balance without greater energy security and grid capacity.
Minister pledges frontloaded projects
Minister for Transport, Climate, Environment and Energy Darragh O’Brien told attendees the country has a significant opportunity to execute critical infrastructure projects. He committed to frontloading projects while the private sector pledged greater investment in skills, manufacturing and capacity.
“Ireland’s future competitiveness depends on our ability to deliver the infrastructure we need, and to deliver it at pace,” O’Brien said. “With €275bn in investment available for infrastructure, we have a significant opportunity to execute the infrastructure for the country and strengthen our energy security, grid capacity and resilient supply chains.”
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He emphasized the need to ensure this investment translates into actual projects on the ground.
Energy dependence and grid concerns
David Kelly, CEO of Gas Networks Ireland, raised concerns about Ireland’s dependence on the UK for energy supply. He highlighted the role of renewables in decarbonizing the network and the need to manage emerging risks. Kelly also proposed that data centres help fund Ireland’s renewable agenda.
Carmel Logan, head of real estate at KPMG Ireland, opened the forum by noting that “Ireland has the ambition, demand, investment capacity and access to capital.” She said the priority now is delivering the housing and infrastructure needed to support future growth and competitiveness.
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Housing delivery obstacles
Michael Hynes, CEO of Evara, welcomed progress made through initiatives to accelerate infrastructure reporting but focused on obstacles to housing delivery. He examined how planning constraints, utility connections, grid access and supporting infrastructure affected timelines and investment decisions.
Niall O’Connor, managing director of Kingspan Insulation, discussed the growing appetite among developers to deliver new projects alongside ongoing difficulties in translating demand into completed homes. He pointed to competition for skilled workers, including labour movement toward data-centre construction, and procurement changes needed to give businesses confidence to invest in people, manufacturing and capacity.
Locally based manufacturing could provide greater supply certainty, reduce exposure to international disruption, control transport costs and emissions, and ensure products were readily available for construction projects.
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