REACTION:EMPLOYERS GROUP Ibec welcomed the €39 billion capital spending programme saying it represented an "important vote of confidence in the Irish economy".
The Construction Industry Federation (CIF) and Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) also responded positively to the plan.
However, Fine Gael said the proposals were an early sample of the budget and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu) said a greater stimulus was needed.
Fine Gael finance spokesman Michael Noonan said spending on capital projects for this year was now €1 billion less than last year, and about half of what was envisaged in the 2007-2013 National Development Plan.
“This reduction will have a profound effect on economic activity and on job creation,” Mr Noonan said.
“This announcement is the first stage of an early budget.”
Ibec director Brendan Butler said the scale of the programme was ambitious by international standards and that it provided an opportunity to enhance the growth potential of the economy.
“The certainty that now exists about the Government’s investment plans will deliver a much-needed stimulus,” he said.
Mr Butler said the onus was now on Government departments to ensure that funding for the infrastructure projects started to flow as soon as possible.
The CIF said the plan represented a reduction on previous targets but that the commitment to invest should send a positive message to the international community that “Ireland remains determined to address its infrastructure deficits in the key areas of health, education, transportation, water services and energy”.
“The announcement also provides a degree of certainty and clarity for the construction industry that has been absent for some time,” CIF policy director Martin Whelan said.
SFI director general Prof Frank Gannon said the plan “reaffirms the central role that research and development is playing in our economic rejuvenation”.
However, Ictu said the Government’s investment should have been much bigger.
“Ireland has a serious infrastructural deficit, mass unemployment in construction and related occupations and the wider economy needs a greater boost than this package will deliver, Ictu economic adviser Paul Sweeney said.
Irish Rural Link said the plan was biased towards Dublin, resulting in inadequate investment for country regions. “Over 40 per cent of the population live in rural areas but they are getting nowhere near 40 per cent of the spending in this plan, which has a regrettable Dublin bias.”
Fine Gael enterprise spokesman Richard Bruton said it was understandable that the capital programme had to be cut with resources scarce.
“However, in the past Ireland has paid dearly for using cuts in capital spending as the easy way out of a crisis.”
