Drawing on findings from KPMG’s Infrastructure Outlook 2026 survey, PAUL O’NEILL, Co-Head of Infrastructure, KPMG in Ireland, explores investor sentiment, the structural barriers affecting infrastructure delivery and the reforms required to improve Ireland’s competitiveness.

Ireland retains many of the characteristics sought by infrastructure investors: a stable economy, sustained demand, significant public investment commitments and opportunities across several growing sectors. So why is our competitive position under pressure and why does the market still not fully buy into our roadmap for infrastructure delivery?

KPMG has undertaken a recent survey to examine current market sentiment, the principal challenges affecting delivery, and the priorities shaping investment and growth over the coming years. Drawing on insights across the infrastructure market, including developers, housebuilders, contractors, funders and industry bodies, the report reflects views from across the infrastructure ecosystem, spanning housing, energy, water, transport and digital infrastructure.

The overarching theme emerging from the survey is one of cautious confidence, tempered by delivery constraints. Ireland’s underlying infrastructure needs are significant, activity is expected to increase, and appetite to invest and deliver remains strong. However, confidence in delivery timelines and pipeline visibility is more measured. It is fair to say that optimism about the scale of the opportunity is stronger than confidence in Ireland’s ability to convert policy ambition and available investment into projects delivered predictably, quickly and at scale.

Nearly two-thirds of respondents believe that other European markets are becoming more attractive for infrastructure growth and investment, although more than one-third still view Ireland as broadly comparable with, or more attractive than, alternative jurisdictions. The principal differentiators are not the underlying quality of Irish projects or the availability of capital. They are policy and regulatory certainty, efficient planning and consenting, visible project pipelines and confidence in delivery timelines.

Simply put, we need to do more to show the market that we are serious about tackling our infrastructure deficit and serious about making the necessary decisions to enable this.

The change is in name only. Ownership and structure are unaffected; the local team remains in place, and all services, client relationships, projects and commitments will continue as before.

Operating under the KEO name will strengthen KEO’s presence in Ireland and support its continued growth across Europe.

Dorothy Maguire, Director of Sustainability, KEO, said: “Joining KEO has given our clients access to a much broader range of expertise, and taking on the KEO name is a natural next step. Our team, our commitment to sustainable building and the way we work with clients all stay the same. What changes is that we can now bring the full strength of an international group to every project in Ireland.”

Structural delivery barriers

The report’s central finding is that infrastructure delivery is being constrained primarily by structural and system-wide barriers, rather than by a lack of demand, investment appetite or industry ambition. Respondents repeatedly identify lengthy planning and consenting processes, limited utility and connection capacity, policy uncertainty, procurement delays and weak coordination among public bodies as the most serious constraints.

Many of these issues sit outside the direct control of developers, contractors and project sponsors. Addressing them will require coordinated action by government departments, regulators, local authorities, utilities, delivery agencies and industry.

The market is not seeking another broad statement of ambition; it wants implementation, accountability and measurable outcomes. The leading priorities are:

– Faster planning and permitting, supported by clearer processes and statutory timelines

– Greater transparency over the timing and status of the project pipeline

– Better coordination between infrastructure investment, utilities and land-use planning

– Increased investment in workforce skills, apprenticeships and delivery capability

– More collaborative procurement and contracting arrangements

– Improved risk allocation, governance and programme certainty

Planning reform is the clearest priority. Respondents regard delays and uncertainty as significant barriers to housing and wider infrastructure delivery, and identify faster permitting as one of the strongest potential enablers of sector growth.

Infrastructure coordination is equally important. Government departments, agencies, utilities and local authorities need to sequence investment more effectively so that transport, energy, water and development programmes reinforce one another. This would help move land from being merely zoned to being fully serviced and ready for development.

The market also favours procurement models that involve contractors earlier and promote greater collaboration. Early contractor involvement, frameworks, term contracts and two-stage design-and-build approaches are preferred because they can improve constructability, risk allocation, cost management and programme certainty. Reform therefore needs to address not only policy and planning but also the practical ways projects are designed, procured, governed and delivered.

Importantly, the government has listened, with a renewed focus on infrastructure spending and delivery through the National Development Plan and a clear willingness to tackle much-needed reforms head-on.

The establishment of the Accelerating Infrastructure Taskforce marked a key change in government policy with a comprehensive programme of reforms to speed up the pace of infrastructure delivery in Ireland. The taskforce reforms are wide-ranging and comprehensive, and we are already starting to see tangible outputs, including the publication of the Critical Infrastructure Bill and key regulatory changes. Momentum is building, and many of the enabling conditions for investment and delivery are beginning to improve.

This matters because Ireland is competing internationally for capital, specialist skills and supply chain capacity. Other markets have moved to provide greater certainty through more credible project pipelines, more collaborative forms of contracting and more balanced approaches to risk. Ireland’s strong economic fundamentals, growing population and substantial investment requirements remain compelling, but those advantages alone will not secure the capacity needed to deliver.

Housing and enabling infrastructure

Housing demonstrates particularly clearly how infrastructure constraints interact. Respondents identify labour availability, financing pressures and policy uncertainty as major impediments to increased supply, alongside utility connection limitations. Land availability and planning permissions alone are not sufficient: zoned land must also have water, wastewater, electricity, transport and other enabling infrastructure before development can proceed at scale.

The report consequently argues that housing delivery cannot be addressed in isolation. Housing policy must be integrated with investment in transport, utilities and serviced land. Better alignment between land-use planning and infrastructure programmes would increase the supply of genuinely development-ready sites. The government’s renewed focus on infrastructure-led housing delivery is broadly welcomed, but respondents remain cautious about how quickly it will produce additional homes.

Pipeline visibility and market outlook

Market participants are broadly optimistic about future activity. Most organisations expect their involvement in Irish infrastructure to increase during the next one to three years, reflecting the depth of national needs and the scale of planned investment. Strong tendering activity for public-sector-led housing also indicates that the private sector remains willing to participate.

However, visibility of future opportunities is mixed. Many organisations do not have sufficient certainty about when projects will enter planning, procurement or construction. This limits long-term decisions on recruitment, supply-chain commitments, financing and investment in delivery capacity. The report stresses that improving transparency may be as important as increasing the headline level of expenditure.

Organisations generally plan to grow organically, supported by strategic partnerships and collaborative delivery models. This indicates that the industry sees opportunities but recognises that scale, specialist capacity and cooperation will be required. Sustaining this confidence depends on moving a sufficient number of projects through the delivery system. If visible progress does not materialise, Ireland risks losing investor attention, skilled personnel and contractor capacity to competing markets.

Private capital can also make a significant contribution alongside public expenditure. Investors and lenders remain willing to support viable projects where long-term revenues, procurement arrangements and delivery programmes are credible. However, capital availability by itself will not produce infrastructure. A visible, investable pipeline is needed so funders can engage earlier, and organisations can commit resources, build teams and develop specialist capability. I would always argue that public investment leads the way, but there is a place for private capital, and we should be moving from an ad hoc approach to private investment towards a more transparent, long-term programme of investable projects.

 

Overall conclusion

Ireland has a compelling infrastructure opportunity and a market prepared to invest, tender, collaborate and expand. The central risk is not insufficient ambition or capital, but a delivery system that lacks sufficient speed, certainty, coordination and capacity. The country is approaching an important inflection point: reforms and investment commitments have created momentum, but stakeholders now expect evidence that projects are progressing.

Success will require the government and industry to translate the National Development Plan and the taskforce reforms into a credible pipeline of deliverable projects. Faster decisions, serviced land, coordinated utilities, stronger skills, transparent programmes and collaborative procurement would allow Ireland to retain capital and capability while meeting its housing, energy, transport, water and digital needs. The opportunity remains substantial, but Ireland’s competitiveness and market confidence will ultimately be determined by execution.

Ireland is therefore approaching an important inflection point. While it remains too early to assess the full impact of the government’s reforms and the Accelerating Infrastructure Taskforce action plan, signs are encouraging, and market confidence remains positive.

Next year will be critical and needs to be defined by visible delivery outcomes. If progress does not become evident, there is a risk that industry and investor confidence will weaken, making it more difficult to retain and build the capacity required to realise the opportunities ahead.

The challenge for policymakers, investors and industry alike is to convert these improved conditions into a credible, deliverable pipeline and bring the domestic and international infrastructure industry with us on that journey.

As always, I remain optimistic that we will get there. We have no choice.

 

Click here to  access the KPMG Infrastructure Outlook 2026