Minister for Transport, Mr Seamus Brennan, today claimed certain recommendations contained in the ESRI's report on the National Development Plan were "short-sighted".
Mr Brennan dismissed accusations that the country resembled a building site, saying if foreign governments followed the advice of the ESRI, they would not have the public transport systems which they now boast.
Speaking on RTE radio, he claimed It was not fair to the country to give the impression that these projects were not being "properly managed and on time and on budget".
"The vast vast majority of them are, he said.
The minister was responding to criticisms made in the ESRI report published yesterday.
The report said the Government's strategy was broadly correct but highlighted serious flaws in the management of major projects and said radical measures were needed to control housing demand.
It called for increased funding for transport investment and warned that projects were being upgraded without proper evaluation.
The minister said that although the ESRI report was thoughtful, in certain respects it was short-sighted.
However Fine Gael's Mr Richard Bruton said the ESRI had pointed out unpalatable truths.
Mr Bruton said: "What we have to see is a serious response to these issues."
He criticised the LUAS light rail system, which is currently under construction across Dublin.
"We are going to have a lot of problems with it," he added.
"The lines don't link. The enormous congestion cost is not factored in and there are serious problems that we are left with.
"There are very hard lessons here for ministers."
The transport minister rejected Mr Bruton's evaluation of the LUAS project as "grim".
He said: "These are two very good routes and they can be connected in time. That is a project we can push on."