A NOTE OF CAUTION FROM EXPERTS

ECONOMISTS yesterday sounded a note of caution about Project 2040, saying the Government would face steep challenges in its bid to deliver all the projects in its ambitious €116billion National Development Plan.

Alan McQuaid of Merrion Private praised the Taoiseach and his Government for their ambition, but highlighted a number of influencing factors which he said may not go in the plan’s favour ‘in the assumption that Ireland is obviously at the mercy of global events’.

Asked if the plan was realistic, the economist replied: ‘It’s realistic in terms of “is the money there?” It’s realistic, I suppose, in the sense that if things continue to boom the way they are.’ However, he added: ‘Now is it going to continue that way for the next 20 years? That’s highly unlikely.’

He said that ‘obviously Brexit is going to hit us’ and that we can’t ‘control our own destiny’, so a lot of the plan ‘will be determined by things that are outside of our control’ such as global events. ‘There will be setbacks along the way,’ he said.

Economist Constantin Gurdgiev told the Irish Daily Mail: ‘I do not feel it’s ambitious enough because the transportation links beyond the road are not really developed.

‘The cost of rail transportation is also not mentioned. If we are looking to build Ireland as a whole, then we need to think about great interconnectivity across Ireland.’

Opposition parties had already raised concerns about the actual delivery of the plans outlined.