Podcasts

Why Should We Believe in This €200 Billion Development Plan?

The government says it will spend €200 billion over the next decade on major infrastructure — everything from rail and roads to water systems and the electricity grid. It’s a huge number. But is it a real plan... or just another political promise? Today on Newstalk Daily, Ciara Doherty takes a closer look at the updated National Development Plan — and asks whether this time will really be any different. Because if Irish history teaches us anything, it’s that big ambitions tend to run into even bigger problems. Plans stall. Costs spiral. Economies wobble. And projects are quietly shelved, scaled back, or simply forgotten. With Political Correspondent Sean Defoe, the podcast revisits some of the state's most high-profile infrastructure promises from the past two decades — from Transport 21 and the National Spatial Strategy, to decentralisation and the infamous ‘Bertie Bowl’ — to see what was promised, what actually got built, and what lessons we keep failing to learn. And just as this new €200 billion plan is unveiled, a transatlantic threat looms: US President Donald Trump’s promise of a 30 per cent tariff on EU goods — a move that could hit the Irish economy hard and throw even the most carefully costed projects into doubt. 📧 Email the podcast at [email protected]  see more