‘Planning delays biggest infrastructure barrier’
A survey carried out by business-law firm Mason Hayes & Curran (MHC) has found that planning-permission delays are seen as the biggest barrier to infrastructure delivery in Ireland.
The survey was based on responses from 300 people involved in the sector at the firm’s Built Environment Summit.
It showed that two-thirds (66%) saw consenting delays as the main barrier to delivery. Procurement was selected by 14%, followed by funding certainty at 12% and workforce capacity at 8%.
The findings, however, also showed improved investor sentiment towards Ireland, with seven in ten respondents saying that their confidence in the country as an investment destination was higher than 12 months ago.
Investment appetite
Vanessa Byrne (partner and co-head of real estate at MHC) said that Ireland did not lack infrastructure ambition or investment appetite.
“The real test is whether projects can move through the consenting pipeline with enough certainty to attract capital and sustain investor confidence,” she stated.
Byrne said that the law firm was seeing continued international interest in major infrastructure and property projects in Ireland, but delivery and planning timelines were facing closer scrutiny.
The survey follows a series of policy and legislative interventions aimed at speeding up housing and infrastructure delivery – including the Accelerating Infrastructure Report and Action Plan, the updated National Development Plan, the Critical Infrastructure Bill 2026 and reforms to the Planning and Development Act.
According to the survey, only one in five respondents said that Ireland was trying to deliver too many major projects at the same time.
Constraints
Energy and transport were seen as the main infrastructure constraints on economic growth, with more than four in ten respondents selecting energy capacity (42%), followed closely by transport connectivity (41%). Water capacity was selected by almost one in five (17%).
David Gunn (partner in construction, infrastructure, and utilities at MHC) said: “Our water, energy, and transport systems also have a direct bearing on Ireland’s capacity for growth. Delays in these areas affect where homes can be built and where businesses can invest."
Almost half (49%) of respondents said that the availability and scale of opportunities was the biggest obstacle to commercial-property investment in Ireland.
One-third (33%) pointed to the pricing gap between buyers and sellers, with 18% citing interest-rate uncertainty.
Alan Burns (financial-service partner at MHC) said that, in a smaller market like Ireland, a shortage of suitable assets could hold back activity even when confidence improved.
“Investor appetite is there, but it needs somewhere to go,” he added.