Traffic congestion caused wage inflation and could curtail Ireland's economic growth potential, a conference on transport planning has heard.
Mr Jim Bourke, the manager of the Enterprise Policy and Planning Division of Forfas, said the existing level of road congestion, and its potential to worsen, was a matter of very serious concern from an industrial development perspective. With skills shortages, traffic was starting to create significant difficulties in marketing Ireland to investors.
"It's also creating recruitment difficulties for existing firms as potential employees are factoring in traffic difficulties when making a decision on job offers. Some companies are telling us that workers are now seeking compensation in their wages for time spent travelling."
Mr Bourke was speaking at a conference on "Corridor Management" jointly organised by the Dublin Transportation Office and the Irish Planning Institute. He said unprecedented growth in Ireland had placed unanticipated pressure on the State's infrastructure and brought Dublin close to crisis point.
The access to Dublin Port and Dublin Airport was becoming severely constrained, particularly at morning and evening peak times. A food company in Naas had told Forfas that due to traffic delays in getting to Dublin port, it needed 10 per cent more trucks this year than last year.
While Dublin was an extreme case, most large towns and cities were experiencing the problem to varying degrees, he said. Access to Shannon Airport from the north and east was also very poor, and as a result its catchment area was only 60 per cent of what it could be. "By international standards, the general level and standard of transportation provision in Ireland is mediocre."
While some fall-off in the very high level of industrial growth in Ireland in recent years was to be expected, output growth would remain quite buoyant by long-term historical standards, he said.
Commitment to a more balanced pattern of regional development would improve the distribution of this growth in the longer term but was unlikely to reduce the pressure on investment in infrastructure in the next five years, he added. Regional development would itself require more investment in infrastructure.
Mr Bourke called for a speedier planning and zoning approval process "without undermining democratic rights". He said bodies such as the Dublin Transportation Office should be given more power.
Mr Michael Cahill, of the National Roads Authority, who spoke on the development of the M50, said the motorway and associated developments would cost £800 million at present market values when completed. He said the section of the motorway near the Red Cow Inn had reached 96 per cent of its existing capacity at evening peak time.
