The Pat Kenny Show Is nimbyism at the heart of the Irish planning system?
Nov 24, 2025
Shane Dempsey, Director General of the Association of Consulting Engineers Ireland, shares his insights on overcoming bureaucratic hurdles in infrastructure. He discusses how regulations slow down project timelines despite Ireland's capable engineering sector. Dempsey highlights the challenges of multiple agencies managing infrastructure and emphasizes the need for collective action to drive reforms. He also compares Ireland's public-good designations with more effective systems abroad, underscoring the potential for accelerated delivery when legal frameworks align with political will.
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Regulation Has Outpaced Engineering Productivity
- Ireland's regulatory pileup has lengthened project delivery despite productivity gains in engineering.
- Citizens now wait longer for infrastructure because multiple overlapping processes add delay.
Use The Report As A Mandate
- Acknowledge systemic problems first, then publish targeted solutions to cut through bureaucracy.
- Use the Accelerating Infrastructure Report as a mandate to force coordinated action across agencies.
Delays Are Systemic, Not Just Agency Faults
- Individual agencies delay projects because they operate inside complex legal and political frameworks.
- Fixing delivery requires changing the system those agencies respond to, not just blaming them.