Despite a new Irish government being elected last week, there still remains doubt about the future health of the construction industry in Ireland, according to CIOB members.
Enda Kenny was re-elected Ireland’s prime minister on 6 May, ending 10 weeks of political deadlock, when his party’s biggest rival abstained to usher in the first minority government in decades. Kenny’s centre Fine Gael party has returned to power with the backing of nine independent lawmakers and facilitated by its main rival, Fianna Fail, which agreed to abstain from opposition on key votes until the end of 2018.
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However, while the news may be good for the short-term, some have expressed concern, particularly as it is a widely held view by many that this government will be short-lived.
Michael Gallagher FCIOB, associate director at construction services provider Turner & Townsend, said while the situation has improved and the first steps are positive, the indsutry was already looking ahead cautiously. “It’s good the political situation has been resolved but what if this government doesn’t last full-term? This sends out the wrong single to investors and again is not encouraging for the industry.”
He added: “Things have improved in the last year. We have seen a big boom in the commercial sector and in student accommodation. The industry has recovered quite well the last 12 months but its still quite fragile. The last thing you need is an unstable government.
“But we’ve probably got the best version we could have from the election at the moment and we’ll have to see. But concerns remain.”
In September, the Irish government had announced the launch of a new €27bn capital spending plan covering 2016-2021, which was seeking to harness economic recovery and would heavily involve infrastructure and construction.
