A Clare Government TD has warned the economy’s “going nowhere” unless the state gets to grips with rolling out basic infrastructure.
It comes amid the impending threat of a 30% US tariff and a new report from the France Ireland Chamber of Commerce, which shows that although most businesses are positive about investing here, housing shortages are a growing frustration.
The survey found that 73% of businesses have identified investment opportunities in the Franco-Irish market and are confident about the trade environment for the year ahead.
However, the chamber has outlined a number of concerns about operating here including infrastructure delivery, housing shortages, red tape, talent and skills shortages, as well as rising cost pressures and inflation.
In Clare alone, there are over 50 towns and villages with either limited public access to wastewater infrastructure, or none at all, while roughly half of ESB substations nationwide don’t have the capacity for new housing developments.
Clare Fine Gael TD Joe Cooney says the inaction of state agencies is holding the country back.
The new President of Shannon Chamber believes relaxing design restrictions, limiting objections to local stakeholders and a push towards modular units could speed up the planning process and ease investor concerns.
The business community now also has to prepare, however, for an impending 30% tax imposed on all goods exported to the US, if Donald Trump follows through on his latest tariff threat.
Former Managing Director of Dromoland Castle Mark Nolan believes this isn’t something companies here could absorb and is calling for the EU to take action.
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