Irish development years behind plan

The biggest national development plan in the history of Ireland, which was expected to provide a bonanza for UK and European contractors and local firms, is now seven years behind schedule and running out of money, according to a report published last week.

The seven-year plan, involving a national network of motorways and bypasses, plus a Dublin Port tunnel and light rail system, was estimated to cost £37.1bn and to be completed by 2006. But in a critical review, the Institution of Engineers of Ireland claims that unless funding is significantly increased and projects fast-tracked, the work will not be finished until 2013.

The plan, intended to transform the Republic's creaking infrastructure, was launched at the height of the so-called Celtic Tiger boom, a six-year period of unprecedented Irish economic success, with annual growth rates of up to 10%. Since then Ireland has been caught up in the international recession.

The cash crisis has been compounded by two other factors - planning delays and construction price inflation. Objections to proposed routes have delayed some projects for more than a year, while inflation in the industry has increased by 40% since the plan was launched in 1999, making the original estimates meaningless.

To salvage the development plan, the Institution of Engineers recommends increased borrowing, plus taxation and development levies, to provide the necessary funding.

It advocates a specialist "one-stop-shop" planning body to fast-track major projects, with a new High Court division established to deal with legal and environmental challenges.

It is a measure of the financial strains on the Irish exchequer that transport minister Seamus Brennan is proposing to sell the 7.2km Dublin Port Tunnel, now under construction at a cost of £516m, and use the proceeds to help fund the roads programme.

The privatisation of the tunnel, due to open in 2005, could raise more than £740m, he claimed, with the buyer recouping the cost through tolls over a 30- to 40-year period.

But Irish hauliers, who will be required to use the tunnel to ease Dublin's traffic gridlock, are objecting to the tolls, which they claim would breach EU regulations, as they would have no option but to pay them.