Gerard Brady: The ambitious Infrastructure Fund requires reforms and more workers

Capacity building and reform will be needed across the regulatory system in licencing bodies, in the planning system, local authorities, and courts where significant backlogs have emerged.

More architects, engineers and more expertise generally is needed for the infrastructure, said Mr Brady. Picture: Larry Cummins

The announcement of the extra few euros in tax cuts or welfare increases is no doubt what makes people tune in to the Budget, one of the big set pieces of the political year. But often, the most meaningful changes announced can be things which don’t immediately catch the eye but are the seeds of long-term and far-reaching changes in how we live and work.

For one, the changes announced suggest that we are moving toward a more Northern European style of social model. Announcements of higher PRSI, a much higher minimum wage, and pay related unemployment payments are all steps in an ongoing transition. The final leg in that journey is a comprehensive investment to support lifelong learning in the workplace. That final shoe didn’t quite drop on Budget Day, but there were strong commitments to unlock the unjustifiably large €1.5bn surplus in the National Training Fund, which must now be acted upon.