Employers group Ibec has warned that political inaction and a lack of long-term planning means Ireland risks missing an opportunity to improve national infrastructure and relieve economic bottlenecks.
Ibec is holding its annual business leaders conference in Dublin's Convention Centre today.
This year's event is taking place against the backdrop of Brexit and the trade implications that may arise from the promised policies of the Trump administration in the US.
Ibec's chief executive Danny McCoy said the country should be taking greater advantage of the cheap money that is available on international borrowing markets and spending it on creaking infrastructure as well as on services such as health and housing.
He argued that failure to act now could create serious long term economic and social problems.
The window to access cheaper money could close very soon giving that interest rates look like they are going on the upswing again, he added.
"We must not let the austerity mind set of the crisis dictate economic policy into the future. To benefit from the economic opportunities that now exist, we need to massively ramp up infrastructure spending. But the Government is not embracing this ambition," he stated.
Mr McCoy pointed out that Ireland remains at the very bottom of the EU league table for infrastructure spend, while at the same time the country is in a global race for investment.
"Government will remain the primary funder of infrastructure projects, but there is a growing role for the private sector. It is vital that Government increases its ambition around PPPs and reviews the current unnecessary cap on their use," he stated.
British Chancellor Philip Hammond yesterday adopted a fairly cautious approach in yesterday's budget in the UK, readying the economy there for the worst in the event of a Brexit related downturn.
Other speakers at today's conference include Peter Barrett, CEO of Aviation Capital; Margot Slattery, Country President of Sodexo Ireland; Vicky Godolphin, Head of Digital at Accenture and John Mahony, CEO of Reputation Inc.
