A quantum leap in the level of investment is needed to address the deficit in the Republic's social and physical infrastructure, the leader of the Labour Party, Mr Ruairi Quinn has said. the scale of the task would require an integrated, national plan, driven forward by a cabinet minister, and funded through public-private partnerships (PPPs), he said.

Addressing the conference of the Insurance Institute of Ireland in Cork, Mr Quinn said that while in recent years the Republic's economy had grown enormously, its infrastructure had not.

"You simply do not replace, or overcome within a period of six to seven years, a 20 to 30 time lag in terms of capital infrastructure investment. That is now the fundamental issue that we have to confront," he said.

There could be no doubt about the scale of the problem, Mr Quinn told the gathering. He cited the most recent ESRI report which states that the economy required an investment of £50 billion (€64 billion) over the next seven years, adding that it was clear an "absolute quantum leap" was necessary.

Despite this knowledge, there existed no coherent, integrated, overall plan, there was no one in charge, and this was a serious impediment to progress, he said.

Such a blueprint would have to deliver additional road, rail, telecommunications, housing, educational and social facilities to many Irish towns, ensuring that they flourished.

It was also important to include Northern Ireland in the plan: "A national physical development spatial plan for the country will not and could not make sense unless it was done on an all-Ireland basis."

He said the National Treasury Management Agency, which had shown its skill managing the Republic's debt over the past ten years, was the ideal organisation to raise and manage the cash, and PPPs could be used to attract investment from Irish institutions who feel they are, in a EMU environment, now over-exposed to Irish equities.

It was also important that the Taoiseach appointed a member of the cabinet to drive the project forward: "I am talking about a senior Government minister, sitting at the cabinet table, with both a voice and a vote."

There were concerns about the delays in the decision-making process, and the length of time for local objections to developments took to come before planning authorities and courts, he said. While these were valid criticisms, they could not be resolved by abandoning the current system of safeguards.

A separate High Court should be set up to enable disputants get access to justice, and deal with the cases speedily.

"We can keep the baby of democracy safely in our arms, and throw out the bath water at the same time!" he quipped.