Builders are “still waiting” for the State to seek bids for big infrastructure projects meant to tackle mounting problems in housing, transport and water supply, says a leading industry body.
The Government has pledged to spend €270 billion redeveloping the Republic’s transport, water and energy networks to boost house building and meet the demands of a growing population and economy.
But the Government has not delivered on its promise to centrally co-ordinate a sequence of big projects for which builders can bid, which threatens to slow critical infrastructure development, according to Construction Industry Federation (CIF) chief executive Andrew Brownlee.
“We are still waiting to see that centralised pipeline of projects that tells us they will be tendered and commenced,” he said.
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That would give construction businesses the confidence to hire staff and invest so they can bid for this work, Brownlee said.
He welcomed news that the Dublin metro underground railway and State body Uisce Éireann were seeking bids for initial work meant to pave the way for critical projects in the capital.
However, the construction chief said many of the individual National Development Plan spending proposals published by Government departments lacked detail and failed to give the industry a clear picture of what would happen next.
“That’s what our members are telling us,” Brownlee said.
He was speaking as the CIF published its outlook for the second quarter of this year – the result of a survey of 138 building businesses in the Republic.
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The survey shows that many of them are growing their businesses outside the State, despite the demand for housing and infrastructure here, Brownlee said.
One in four companies said revenues rose in the first three months of this year, while 36 per cent expect turnover to grow this year, according to the research.
Employment continues to grow, while construction jobs broke the 200,000-mark for the first time in almost 20 years.
However, almost all reported increases in costs in the first quarter of the year and expect further hikes in coming months.
The soaring energy prices that followed the US-Israeli strikes on Iran have spurred a sharp rise in inflation.
Brownlee warned the energy crisis would add to the cost of building materials, plant and machinery, for members.
He welcomed the Government’s fuel subsidy support scheme agreed in the wake of protests across the State as petrol and diesel hikes hit home in April.
