The Construction Industry Federation (CIF) has welcomed the findings of the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council ‘Ireland’s Competitiveness Challenge 2024’ report but has underlined the industry’s workforce capacity to deliver infrastructure projects.

The report highlighted that planning has persisted as an ongoing area of considerable concern concerning infrastructure delivery. However, while the report references that the economy is operating at full capacity, CIF reiterated that the construction industry can deliver.

“CIF welcomes the report and agrees with its key findings, including the requirement to tackle obstacles to the planning and delivery of sustainable infrastructure, which is a fundamental component of our competitiveness”, said Hubert Fitzpatrick, Director General of the CIF.

“When sightline on a credible pipeline of shovel-ready infrastructural construction projects is available, the industry has always demonstrated its capacity to ramp up and secure the required resources for delivery and reallocate resources from sector to sector as required.

“Our cities, provincial towns and regional communities require Irish construction companies to deliver billions of investments in critical infrastructure under the National Development Plan to drive economic growth. We urge Government to address capacity constraints of key portfolios including water, energy, transport, health, and education to support the growing population, maintain jobs and foreign direct investment, and sustain strong economic growth.”

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