The real cost of delaying public infrastructure projectsFeargal Quinn had a great piece in yesterday’s Irish Times titled The True Cost of Public Infrastructure. Some time ago while sitting in traffic chaos during the road works on the M50 I was thinking something similar. All around me were people who had left home earlier than should have been necessary which creates issues for families and affects people's health. They were spending more than they needed to on fuel for those cars and were pumping out more CO2 emissions than were necessary all because we were trapped by the road works. Feargal Quin points out that as well as these negative effects, delays in building infrastructure also have an opportunity cost. He cites the delayed opening of IKEA due to the wait for the upgrade to the M50 which has a knock- on effect in terms of lost jobs, lost tax revenues and money lost from the local economy as people travelled to IKEA in Northern Ireland instead. It appears to be commonplace to have road building and repairs done at night in many other countries but it is something that is very rarely seen in Ireland. Is anyone working out the true costs? Just as businesses are encouraged to look at the knock-on impacts of their decisions isn’t it reasonable to expect that government departments take a similar approach to large projects? Add a CommentYour comment will appear once it has been approved. |