Mr. Aebhric McGibney:

The top issues for our firms, based on our surveys, are the connected issues of housing and infrastructure, and the cost of doing business. We need water supply and wastewater facilities in order to construct housing. That is a big blockage in the greater Dublin area.

To go back to Deputy McCormack’s question, we welcome the levels of capital spending that have been announced. The Minister announced that there will be sectoral spending plans, but we want to see the detail. There is growing scepticism among businesses about whether projects will go ahead and, if so, when they will be delivered. There is an element of spinning plates in way that previously announced projects keep on reappearing. On the capital side, the NDP was largely restated for the current year in budget 2026. We are keen to see great detail in the sectoral plans.

To address Deputy Gogarty’s question, Seán O’Driscoll is chairing the accelerating infrastructure task force. A former member of our board is sitting on that group, which is availing of the expertise of many different agencies that are keen to see the group's recommendations, which we expect in October, and to see them implemented. One of the issues that often arises in the context of the delivery of utilities is the question of multi-annual funding. I have been writing budget submissions since 1994. My facts could be wrong but I have not seen a five-year budget plan in this year's budget. It may be there, as there is a lot of documentation to read. It is the first year I have not seen a five-year spending plan. Multi-annual funding is the first issue, and the second issue is around parallel processes. At the moment, when looks through the system one has to go around the houses with An Bord Pleanála and the SEAI, etc. It is sequential. It is a matter of dealing with one after the other, which adds hugely to planning delays. If one has a problem, one goes back to the start. We would like to see parallel processing to make sure each agency is looking for similar information and those decisions are made in parallel. There are two proposals there.