Government must earmark €500 million a year to develop water services to aid house building, the Construction Industry Federation (CIF) argues in a pre-budget submission.
State company Uisce Éireann warned recently that it faces serious challenges to provide water treatment and waste services needed for the 300,000 new homes the Government aims to have built by 2030.
The Government should “ringfence investment of €500 million a year in water and wastewater infrastructure” to aid house building, the CIF says in a document setting out its recommendations for next year’s State spending plans.
Specifically, its pre-budget submission says spending needs to prioritise plans such as the Greater Dublin Drainage and Water Supply projects.
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The drainage project will serve 500,000 people. It includes a new wastewater treatment plant at Clonshaugh, sewers to cater for large parts of the city’s northside and a discharge point for the treated water. Reports estimate the cost at €1.3 billion.
The supply project will tap the Shannon at Parteen, Co Tipperary and pipe water supplies to the midlands and eastern regions, ultimately serving about half the Republic’s population.
The plan, with an estimated €10 billion cost, faces opposition, particularly in Co Tipperary.
The CIF’s submission warns that there are not enough water services to provide for the 60,000 homes the Government hopes the industry will build each year up to 2030.
The body calculates that it would cost €15 billion to provide the water supply and treatment systems the Republic needs.
“Uisce Éireann has not been allocated the necessary capital funding to construct new infrastructure in 2024 and 2025,” the CIF argues.
The organisation dubs the Republic’s infrastructure gap “its greatest competitiveness challenge”, which demands urgent “plan-led investment”.
The CIF also argues that the State should increase investment in the national grid and electricity infrastructure.
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An inability to supply the pharmaceutical, biotech and data industries with the energy they need is an “impediment to the further growth of these sectors”, the CIF says.
Hubert Fitzpatrick, federation director general, says that two-thirds of the 50 biggest companies in the organisation are exporting their expertise to international markets, despite the infrastructure gaps at home.
“Construction companies want to deliver critical infrastructure at home, but the projects simply aren’t materialising,” he says. “Many can no longer rely on Ireland as a stable base for long-term business.”
Irish builders have the “talent and resources” to meet demand, according to Mr Fitzpatrick.
“The main barriers lie outside the industry with persistent planning delays, a lack of zoned land, and low delivery of enabling infrastructure like water and electricity,” he says.
“These consistent roadblocks mean that for many companies, a reliable pipeline of work is not available in Ireland, and for housebuilders, continued delays are slowing the pace of home delivery and deepening the housing crisis.”
Government must co-ordinate infrastructure investment over several years, while reforming public procurement and construction contracts, to give building businesses the confidence to expand here, he adds.
Paschal Donohoe, Minister for Finance, will announce details of the 2026 budget in October.
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