Business representative organisation Isme today called on the Government to continue investing in the National Development Plan (NDP).
Speaking at the association's annual conference in Croke Park today, Irish Small & Medium Enterprises Association (Isme) chairman JJ Killian warned of the dangers of scaling back on the NDP and said that prioritising the delivery of key infrastructural projects on time and within Budget was of paramount importance.
Yesterday it emerged that the exchequer deficit has now reached €9.4 billion - three times the size of the deficit this time a year ago - while the amount of tax collected by Government is now almost €3.6 billion or 11.2 per cent behind projections made at the start of 2008.
Mr Killian said that while it might be tempting to cut back on capital expenditure and to reduced allocated expenditure for key infrastructure, in order to stablise public finances, this would be a mistake.
He claimed that roads, rail, broadband and waste facilities were still badly needed to generate a more productive and efficient economy to esnure that Ireland is in a position to compete when the global economies bounce back from their current difficulties. Mr Killian also told delegates that at present there is an over reliance on road transport and that more funding should be spent on rail services.
"Ongoing investment is required to correct our infrastructure deficit and action has to be taken to speed up major projects, which are essential to our competitiveness," said Mr Killian.
While acknowledging that there have been improvements over the past number of years, Mr Killian said that Ireland was still lagging in the provision and delivery of key infrastructure. In particular, he said there had been little emphasis placed on improving the quality of road links between the various regions and hubs outside of Dublin, which he claimed was crucial to developing regional economies and alleviating pressures on the capital.
"The level of infrastructure in a country affects competitiveness and performance in a number of ways. Well developed infrastructure can reduce congestion, increase productivity and reduce costs. This not only affects existing companies, but also affects a country's attractiveness as an investment location and the general quality of life," he said.
Among the recommendations put forward by Isme to address the address the infrastructure deficit are to introduce new incentives to encourage private sector investment in projects, to fully deregulate the bus transport market, and to speed up the buildings of new schools and hospitals in order to maintain employment in the construction sector.
