Pro-cyclical, Stop-Start Road Building Policy

JupiterKid

I meant to start a thread on this issue a few weeks ago but I was very busy at the time. Anyhow, does anyone else on this forum think that road building policy in Ireland is far too pro cyclical in nature? For instance, during the Celtic Tiger years FF implemented a massive motorway building programme, and as welcome and very necessary as it was, it probably contributed to overheating in the construction sector and landowners often got very generous sums of money from the CPO process.

Forward to the crash and recession: basically nothing was built, and it is believed that much better value for money can be achieved when critical capital investment in infrastructure is spent in leaner times to ensure this infrastructure is put in place when the economy starts to grow again.

Now, in the midst of another boom, very little is happening in the way of road schemes save for two major projects and some minor ones and there is another backlog of need - particularly the M20, M28, M40 and N4/N52.

I’m worried that the process in getting critical road schemes to construction stage has been taking so long that by the time they are ready for construction, another downturn could see them being shelved again.

This is in no-one’s interest. Thoughts?

road_high

Also it really worries me. Very disappointing the lack of urgency or any real will to push projects beyond thr lip service phase into hard spending.

prunudo

Not just roads, all public infrastructure is. And the increasing delays in getting them designed and through planning is taking longer and longer which isn't helping.

enricoh

All the dough is getting spent on foreva homes! No one ringing joe duffy or protesting about motorways not getting built. Short sighted but entirely expected by our politicians!

Donegal Storm

Indifference to infrastructure is a feature of Fine Gael in general, probably the single biggest difference between themselves and FF and unfortunately both are at extreme (and equally irresponsible) ends of the spectrum.

The current situation is pathetic, I know we've still got the hangover from the crash but we're 4 years as the fastest growing economy in Europe now and still only a small handful of mildly ambitious schemes anywhere close to starting. Another economic slowdown is inevitable eventually and it's not looking like we're getting anything interesting built in this cycle

Flesh Gorden

This is something that always puzzled me.

At the start of the crash, we have this massive pool of construction workers whose prices had been driven down. Land prices had also tanked.

Whilst the country was able to secure loans for the failing banks, there was no foresight to secure low interest loans to fund the continued building of key infrastructure and keep the economy ticking along.

The majority of my own school friends who were in the building trade headed off to Australia to shovel tarmac into potholes or work on cattle farms.

Now we're back at a stage where land and labor costs prices are at their peak and we're looking to start from scratch again on a number of road projects.

roadmaster

Its does seam like road construction is coming to a slow halt hopefully that will change. On the plus side i see Longford Co Co are looking to appoint a liaison Officer for the N4 mullingar rooskey

Flesh Gorden

Flesh Gorden wrote: »

The majority of my own school friends who were in the building trade headed off to Australia to shovel tarmac into potholes or work on cattle farms.

Yes but thats the advantage for the government.... We could barely pay guards/teachers/civil servants etc

They will make a lot of noise complaining while still working and redundancy / reorganisation is very difficult and many of the jobs essential.

Most of the builders were just told one day "no more job" and just got the plane, outta sight outta mind for the politicians. Good stuff.