Time for Reflection is Over: Delivery of Agreed Long-Term Plans Must be Immediate Priority of next Government

In the final 24 hours before polls open, Chambers Ireland calls on voters and candidates to deliver on agreed investment in existing plans for infrastructure and regional development.

Speaking this morning, Chambers Ireland Chief Executive Ian Talbot says,

“Over the past number of years, huge efforts have been made by a wide cross-section of interests, including business, regional authorities, local Government and national legislators, to agree long-term strategies to improve our infrastructure, grow our cities and regions and commit to the decarbonisation of the economy.

In politics, we see too frequently, that with each election, comes a new approach. The development of the National Planning Framework, Climate Action Plan, and National Development Plan were years in the making. The next Government must now take up the mantle and deliver these projects so that we can future-proof the economy.

The need for rapid strategic investment in infrastructure projects to make up for the “lost decade” following the financial crash must be at the core of the next programme for Government. Economic recovery has not been felt in all parts of the country and the post-recession under-investment, particularly in housing, has had a detrimental impact on quality of life and productivity for many.  Reversing these regional impacts must be the immediate priority of the next Government.

Our GE2020 manifesto focuses on the importance of Place, and the need to ensure that there is a national vision for balanced regional development. Retaining the national frameworks already in place and committing to their delivery will be crucial to this, to productivity and the sustainability of Ireland’s economic recovery.”

-ENDS-