Aontú Leader Peadar Tóibín has called on the government to put in place comprehensive steps to address the time it takes large public infrastructure project to come to fruition, as the Infrastructure Committee has heard that the country has the second worst times for evaluating construction project tenders and a worsening completion record on major projects.
The Meath West TD said:
“At the Dáil Infrastructure Committee today, we were briefed on the current state of major infrastructure projects and how the system being operated by the government needs to be urgently transformed to deliver crucial projects of national importance going forward.
44 projects which were identified as being in Ireland’s major infrastructure pipeline in 2019, 24 have been completed and 20 are still awaiting completion. Only 11 are expected to be delivered on or ahead of time and 3 of those projects still have no expected date of completion.
Experts from Ibec informed Members that the planning system remains a major impediment to large infrastructure projects, and that the Minister should intervene directly and force An Bord Pleanála to prioritise projects such as critical infrastructure that is facing delays in the planning process.
The committee was told that a centralised coordination body to oversee project sequencing and integration must be established. Aontú have previously said that accountability in project delivery is missing – setting up the new Infrastructure Division within the Department is not enough and that there needs to be Ministerial accountability to the Dáil on project delivery.
The problems created by government inertia on project delivery was laid bare when TDs were told that according to the European Court of Auditors, it takes an average of 143 days in Ireland alone to complete a tender evaluation. It is considerably longer in the case of the bid and tender evaluation stage for construction competitions in Ireland at 294 days, which is second worst in Europe and approximately three times the European average.
This record of failure has real life impacts on those who rely on critical infrastructure across the country. Whether it be flood defences in Cork or the resilience of the electricity grid, this government has presided over a system that prioritises short term attention over long-term stability.”
