Ibec has warned that Ireland is currently losing out on business opportunities because of constraints in capacity in the economy, including around housing.
The employers’ organisation claims the Government must focus on creating greater economic capacity in October’s budget, through both expanding infrastructure and boosting social investment.
Launching Ibec’s pre-budget submission, Executive Director of Lobbying and Influence Fergal O’Brien said the mood of businesses here is generally very positive with most in expansion or with expansion plans.
But he said the number one issue facing firms is the question of whether there is capacity in the economy to deliver on those plans, as frustration grows around the speed of delivery of the National Development Plan.
“We have no doubt that Ireland is losing out on opportunities at the moment because of our capacity constraints,” he stated.
In particular he pointed to housing as a big concern among employers everywhere.
“That is in every region and every town in the country and it is just a real practical everyday headache for employers in trying to resource positions, in trying to attract but crucially retain staff as well,” he said.
“We see so many of our members, they actually manage to attract but they can’t do the retention piece because of the housing constraint.”
As a result, Ibec wants budget measures to ensure continuous investment in infrastructure regardless of economic conditions, through the establishment of a National Infrastructure Fund.
This would be funded from a substantial portion of the budget surpluses over the coming years.
Specifically, the employers body wants an additional €30 billion to be invested in infrastructure between now and 2030.
The organisation does not think surplus corporation tax receipts should be us