On Wednesday (26 November), the Irish government approved a €24.3 billion transport investment plan for 2026–2030 under the latest review of the National Development Plan (NDP). The recent Cabinet decision allocates €22.3 billion in standard capital funding, plus a further €2 billion from the Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund to support the major rail project MetroLink. The government describes the package as the largest single transport-sector capital commitment in the State’s history, intended to upgrade rail, roads, active travel and regional transport infrastructure, and strengthen long-term connectivity.
This level of investment comes against what independent experts have described as a substantial, systemic infrastructure deficit across Ireland. According to the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (IFAC), Ireland’s overall infrastructure capital stock remains about 25% below the average of high-income European countries, a gap that encompasses transport, housing, electricity and health infrastructure. The deficit remains despite years of economic growth and rising tax revenues, suggesting that infrastructure investment has historically failed to keep pace with demands from population and employment growth. In this light, the new transport plan can be seen not simply as an expansion, but as an effort to plug a structural infrastructure gap that has long constrained capacity and competitiveness.
More than €10 billion of the plan is devoted to public transport, covering expansion and modernisation of heavy rail, replacement of the existing commuter fleet (DART), and rail-network extensions under projects such as DART+. The government has committed to begin construction by 2027 of key projects, including DART West, budgeted at over €1 billion, and MetroLink. Additional works such as the planned Western Rail Corridor and the urban light-rail extension Luas Finglas are scheduled for the late 2020s. These investments respond directly to long-standing calls from analystswho warn that without significant rail capacity expansion, rising population and commuting pressures will worsen congestion, undermining quality of life, polluting the environment, and deterring inward investment.
On the roads front, approximately €9.7 billion is earmarked for renewing the national road network, constructing new national and regional arteries, and rolling out electric-vehicle charging infrastructure. This includes “major road” schemes costing over €200 million, intended to improve connectivity between ports, airports, urban hubs and growth centres. Transport and infrastructure stakeholders argue this is critical: many multinational firms operating in Ireland rely on reliable road links for supply-chain logistics, and poor transport infrastructure has been cited in the past as a constraint on competitiveness.
Beyond transport and roads, the plan allocates €1.8 billion to active-travel and greenway infrastructure, aimed at delivering 1,000 km of walking and cycling routes by 2030, reflecting broader European trends linking urban mobility, sustainability, and public health. Smaller sums are also earmarked for regional airports, maritime safety, and digital transport systems, enhancing the resilience and future-readiness of Ireland’s transport backbone.
Overall, the scale, scope, and multi-year certainty of the plan signal a turning point: beyond incremental upgrades, this is a concerted attempt to correct decades of underinvestment. By committing to rail, road, cycling, aviation and maritime infrastructure, the government appears intent not just on easing existing bottlenecks, but on aligning transport capacity with future growth and demographic trends. For multinational investors, especially in high-dependency sectors like logistics, manufacturing and technology, the message is clear: Ireland intends to reinforce the physical foundations that support long-term economic activity.
