The Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI) has expressed concern about the impact of the €750m spending cuts to the Public Capital Programme (PCP) on the national infrastructure network and has urged Government to ensure that existing projects have the required funding for completion.

The Society pointed to viable building and civil engineering projects which were stalled at design stage over the past three years due to a lack of funding and said that it is vital that these projects are progressed and completed to ensure value for money for the tax payer.

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John Curtin, President of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland said: "The cuts to the Capital programme are significant and will have a severe impact on the construction industry, which has already contracted in recent years. Furthermore, it will have a negative impact on employment levels which have already dropped to around 100,000 this year from 270,000 directly employed in the construction industry at the peak."

The SCSI also urged Government to consider the appointment of a Chief Construction Adviser by Government to oversee construction expenditure.

"We would also like to see a more joined up approach to public sector construction procurement which is currently fragmentented across a number of spending agencies and departments. We believe that the appointment of a Chief Construction advisor, similar to the UK model which has delivered savings in this area, should be implemented as a matter of urgency," Mr Curtin said.

(CD)