The Gap in Irelands Infrastructure and What Is Done to Close It - Essay Example

The Gap In Ireland's Infrastructure And What Is Done To Close It Introduction. The Republic of Ireland of today has come a long distance from the poor country it was late in the twentieth century. The country joined the European Community early in the 1970s as one of the poorest, if not exactly the poorest country in Europe, however, in the course of about three decades, the story has significantly changed. Though relatively small, Republic of Ireland's economy is one of the most dynamic and globalised economy in the world today. With a strong export-oriented economy facilitated by the booming industrial growth in the country and driven by several multinational companies, the country averaged an astounding 10% annual growth between the periods of 1995-2000. Today, from one of the poorest country, just some decades back, the country has moved to the top of the league; becoming one of the richest country in Europe today (Labohm, 2005; Wikipedia, 2006a; Ireland-Economic Profile, 2005). Although, Ireland is no longer a poor country with its per capita income now one of the highest in the European Community. Yet Ireland's infrastructure and social provision are far below the EU average. The growing poverty rates, unequal income distribution, growing rich-poor gap and the under-equipped transport, health and education systems represent the most visible signs of the extensive gaps in the country's infrastructural base. This poor infrastructure, especially as it concerns transport impacts heavily on several sectors of the country and most importantly on the increasing poor population (A Little Done, 2005). This paper therefore intends to look at the problem of infrastructure in Ireland; how bad it is and what the government is doing to remedy the situation. A good way to start the assessment of the infrastructural problems of the country is to attempt a pragmatic definition of the term 'infrastructure'. In the most general understanding, 'infrastructure' is employed to refer to a set of interconnected structural elements that provide the framework or basis that supports an entire system. However, when restricted to discussions concerning economic growth and/or development of a state or country, infrastructure refers to the facilities that enable the efficient running of individual and corporate businesses and improves the quality of lives for the inhabitants. This could include sectors of the economy as transportation, water supply, electricity/energy supply, waste removal, communications etc (Wikipedia, 2006b). Though, infrastructure is traditionally associated with transportation, such as road networks, railways, motorways etc; it is vital to point out that the term actually subsumes a wide range of facilities and services that enable the smooth running of individual and corporate existence in a state and thus includes more than twenty different areas of investment ranging from the transport, communications, electricity/energy, land development, utilities and even waste disposal and management. Most of Ireland's infrastructure used to be owned and operated by the government, however, things are changing, some are now being operated, partially or totally by the private sector, which holds serious implications for the infrastructural development of the country and the policies required to address the obvious deficits in the country's infrastructure (The Case for Change, 2005). The importance of a sound and well developed physical infrastructure not just for the country's development but also for the quality of life of its people cannot be overemphasised. In the fast moving global economy, people, goods and information must be able to move from one point to the other, quickly, reliably and efficiently. Businesses and investment are attracted to a region/state where good infrastructure exists, because enterprises will only thrive in an environment where physical and communication infrastructures are adequately deployed. Also, tourism is a strong revenue earner, providing thousands of jobs for the nation, however, only a sound infrastructural base will ensure the optimum development of the tourism industry of the nation (Case for Change, 2005; Howley et al, 2006). On personal level, infrastructural development enhances the quality of life of the citizens of any nation. Poor infrastructure characterised by bad roads or inefficient road networks, traffic congestions, poor energy supply and waste disposal and management scheme all add an extra cause of worry for the citizens, making life more difficult and stressful. Apparently, developing the Republic of Ireland's infrastructure is bound to have a resounding effect; there would be more growth in the economy due to a better infrastructural base that will attract more investments, the quality of life of the people is also bound to improve, providing a sound and healthy labour force for the country's development. Without doubt, Republic of Ireland is now a rich and developed economy; however, this pose doubts on the acclaimed infrastructural deficits in the country. Nevertheless, there are countless evidence and data to support the argument that Ireland lags behind several other European countries when it comes to infrastructural development. It is therefore, imperative to look at how bad the problem of poor infrastructure is, and how the country got into this state. A World Economic Survey carried out 2003-2004 by The World Economic Forum established that Ireland's infrastructure is poorly developed, inefficient and insufficient compared other developed countries. The survey ranked Ireland's infrastructure 15th out of the sixteen countries analysed. In the same vein, the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook for 2003 ranked the efficiency, development and sufficiency of Ireland's infrastructure 14th of the sixteen countries analysed (Case for Change, 2005). Even if these international reports are set aside, on the local scene there are several indication of the poor state of the country's infrastructure, which is even attested to by government officials and analyst as evidenced in the priority given to infrastructural development in the last five budgets of the country. For example, energy supply is deficient and inefficient in several parts of the country, especially in rural areas, further widening the gap between the development of urban and rural areas. Also, Ireland is said to have less than 200km of motorway regarded as the lowest of the countries in the European Union. Waste management and communications are other areas that show the poor state of the country's infrastructure (Brian, 2001). Despite the apparent success of the country, in terms of economic development, the poor state of infrastructure has greatly affected the country's development, on one hand, and the quality of life of the people, on the other hand. As highlighted in the report titled ' Case For Change', poor infrastructure has undermined Ireland's business development in number of ways, such as: Ireland s attractiveness for inward investment has diminished, as companies prefer locations with transport and communications links that allow for the efficient and cost-effective movement of goods, people and information Poor quality public transport and a congested road network has hampered labour mobility, impede labour market flexibility and have a negative impact on quality of life Inadequate infrastructure had caused increased costs and lower productivity across the enterprise sector, resulting in the high cost of living in the country Firms have difficulty in getting raw materials and delivering finished goods. This affects their ability to respond rapidly to market demands Opportunities for regional development cannot be fully exploited The lack of a nationwide low-cost broadband network constrains the development of knowledge based enterprise. Once the gravity of the infrastructural gap prevalent in the country is appreciated, the next question that comes to mind is 'how did we get into this state' Interestingly, there are several answers to this question. Understandably, during the periods when the country was poor, investments in infrastructure had to be cut to give room for current expenditures; since the country was running deficit budget and amassing debts, there was no way infrastructures would have been developed. However, during the economic boom periods, the story was different. Starting from the 1990s, the main thrust of Ireland's economic growth was foreign direct investment. These companies were allegedly attracted to Ireland for several reasons ranging from global circumstances to the country's favourable policies. Also, Ireland promised a relatively cheap and highly educated, English speaking and young labour force. These combined factors made Ireland a very competitive base from which to carry out production activities, essentially, the manufacture of products that were designed in the parent company and shipped to markets outside the country. Though, this built considerable expertise in production and process development in the Irish population, it also ensured that much of the wealth resulting from the acclaimed economic boom was taken out of the country. This fact is apparent from the more than 20% difference between the country's GDP and GNP (Grg, and Ruane 2001; Measuring Ireland's Progress, 2005). Moreover, in addition to the above mentioned facts, the growth in economy brought about rapid development in population and thus the need for infrastructures. For instance, in the 10year period ending in 2003, it is estimated that: The population grew by nearly 400,000 to over 3.9 million The number at work grew by almost 600,000 to 1.8 million The value of annual exports grew from 28.5 billion to 109.3 billion The number of new vehicles increased from 76,000 per year to over 188,000 per year (CSO, 2003; CSO, 2004). Therefore, it can be reasonably concluded that the infrastructural problem of Ireland is essentially due to the fact that the infrastructural development has not kept pace with the changing requirements of a developed country in the past decades of the country's magical growths and development. If the problem of infrastructure in Ireland is that pervasive, it is pertinent to look at how the government has been responding to this problem; what has been done, what is presently being done and what is being envisaged for the future, to adequately tackle and resolve the problem of infrastructure in Ireland. On a positive note, it is a relieving fact that the government, in general and the Department of Transport, in particular, realises the problem of infrastructure in the country, appreciates the importance of a sound and developed infrastructure for the business and quality of life of the citizenry, and is taking practical steps towards a lasting solution for the problem. In the quest for a lasting solution for the problems of infrastructure development in the country, the government created the 'national Development Plan' a seven year programme spanning 2000-2006 and intended to develop Ireland's infrastructure by investing the rewards from the economic success of the country. The major focus of the original plan, as envisioned during the creation of the National Development Plan, was the development of a national motorway network between the major cities of the country and the upgrading of the rail network; however, several other projects and plans have been appended to the original plan to further widen the scope of infrastructural development achieved with the NDP. So far, the NDP is regarded as the most intensive investment in infrastructure carried out by any government (Grg, and Ruane 2001; Measuring Ireland's Progress, 2005) The National Roads Authority coordinates the roads project that includes the national Primary Route; the most heavily used roads that connect the major cities of the country, spreading forth from the capital Dublin, and the National Secondary Routes that act as regional roads connecting the various primary routes. The National Development Plan has achieved considerably success in both sections. As of 2005, the primary route network has seen considerable development, though the network is unlikely to be completed until near the end of the decade. However, the government is not relenting. In the November of 2005, the government published the Transport 21 initiative, which includes a whooping 18bn for improved roads and 16bn for improved rail, including the Western Rail Corridor and the Dublin Metro. So far, with respect to road networks, the M1 motorway Dublin towards Belfast has been completed, M7 from Dublin to Limerick is also complete to south of Portlaoise, while construction is expected to begin on an M7/M8 project south of Portlaoise connecting to both the Dublin-Limerick N7 road and N8 road to Cork. A dual-carriageway section of the N7 from Limerick to Nenagh towards Dublin is also under construction. The M4 motorway from Dublin towards Galway and the West of Ireland will shortly reach as far as the Midlands; also, projects are under construction to bring the dual-carriageway sections as far as Athlone. The N11 road/M11 motorway south of Dublin to Wicklow and Wexford is also progressing. The M9 motorway project from Dublin to Waterford is currently in final planning stages and construction has been confirmed to start in the spring of 2007. While the completion of the M50 motorway Dublin inner ring road is part of the NDP, upgrade of parts of the M50 is due to be appended to the plan. The M50 Dublin port tunnel project is also major scheme in the plan involving tunnelling from the M1 north of the city centre through to the Docklands to the east of the city centre (Wikipedia, 2006a). Besides roads, Ireland rail network have also witnessed improvements as a result of the infrastructure development drive of the NDP. From 1994 onwards, much new rolling stock has been acquired and from 2004, there appears to be trend towards capacity expansion rather than just replacement of old stock. However, most major routes have been re-laid, so far, with continuous welded rail, and in most cases, too, signalling has been upgraded. On Airports, the country's three major airports - Dublin Airport, Shannon International Airport and Cork International Airport have witnessed substantial developmental efforts and are now up to international standards. Away from transportation now, other infrastructural sectors have also witnessed developmental efforts. The communication sector is one area of the Ireland infrastructure that is admittedly very poor; however, recently, things have been changing, though not good enough. As at 2004, broadband is reportedly available to 50% of houses with an approximate 15% geographical coverage of the country. One major problem though is that it is still relatively expensive and out of reach of the increasing poor population. One sore point of the country's communication structure is reportedly due to laxity of Eircom believed to be negligent of line degradation in their network maintenance making more than 25% of lines currently connected to the broadband-enabled exchanges unable to avail broadband connection due to bad quality of the lines. Also in the energy sector, as part of the government's objective to promote environmental and economically sustainable energy production, electrical generation from peat consumption, as a percent of total electrical generation, was reduced from 18.8% to 6.1%, between 1990 and 2004. Likewise, coal consumption was reduced from 41.7% to 27.6%. Making up for this, the share of natural gas in electrical generation increased from 26.7% to 44.8%. Renewable energy, from biomass, wind and hydro, also increased from 1.9% to 2.6% in the same time period (Grg, and Ruane 2001; Measuring Ireland's Progress, 2005; Wikipedia, 2006a). From the foregoing, it is obvious that the government is serious about the development of Ireland's infrastructure and is going about it in a pragmatic manner. To further sustain and improve on the developments so far, the government is proposing a second stage of the NDP to run another seven year period from 2007-20013. According to the Minister for Finance, the next NDP will be the key instrument in bringing the stock of the country's infrastructure up to the required standard and will also foresee the sustained investment in the major sectors of the country's infrastructural base vital to the continued success of the economy (Brian Cowen, 2006). Conclusion. Infrastructure is an important instrument for the development of any country or economy; it holds serious implications for the efficiency of businesses and quality of life in any society. The Republic of Ireland witnessed an unprecedented growth in the last decade that surpassed its infrastructural development. This has put great pressure on the government and strain on the citizens. The government realises this pressure and is working hard to improve on the quality and status of the country's infrastructure. Though a lot has been done in terms of development, but this pales in comparison with what still has to be done. The good news, however, is that the government is living up to the challenges and in the near future, if all plans presently been created are practically employed, the country would be able to conveniently sit in the ranks of developed countries with world class infrastructures. References A Little Done Much More To Do (2004). 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