Dublin 2040

Launch event hears insights from expert panel and members of the Accelerating Ireland Taskforce

The road to 2040 must be paved with bold decisions, collective action and a shared vision in order for Dublin to thrive as an economic powerhouse. So said Ryan McCarthy, Managing Partner of KPMG Ireland, at the launch of Dublin 2040: The countdown to a better city, a solutions-led initiative to promote a better future for Ireland’s capital.

The Dublin 2040 report, incorporating research with 300 Dublin-based businesses and policy proposals from KPMG, was formally launched by Jack Chambers, the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, with an invited audience of business leaders.

While 66 per cent of those surveyed, think Dublin will be the same or better place to do business in the next year, the report highlights infrastructure as the key priority for the capital, particularly affordable housing.

“This report serves as a really important assessment of both the priorities and the progress in Dublin, but also the significant challenges we face and how we must overcome them,” said Minister Chambers. The Minister described Dublin as a key driver of the Irish economy, accounting for 40 per cent of the country’s economic output. However, he acknowledged the “clear infrastructure deficit” and said the government is committed to addressing the challenge head-on.

“Infrastructure is the backbone of our economic prosperity, not just for the coming years but also for the long-term. How we approach building in Dublin in the upcoming decade will set a wider direction for many decades to come,” said Minister Chambers.

The KPMG policy proposals include tackling vacancy and dereliction; reintroducing targeted tax reliefs to support the development of homes; investing in modernising energy grid infrastructure; and creating an internationally recognised innovation hub for start-up and scale-up companies. In total, KPMG estimates that Dublin requires €70 billion of state investment over the 15 years to 2040.

“This is not cost, this is investment,” said Ryan McCarthy. “If we do this right, we will get a payback on this multiple times over.”

If we do this right, we will get a payback on this multiple times over.

Ryan McCarthy

Managing Partner

KPMG in Ireland

The Infrastructure Imperative

For Colm O’Neill, KPMG’s Global Head of Power and Utilities and Head of Consulting at KPMG in Ireland, infrastructure is the “great untalked-about challenge” for Dublin. He joined Catherine Doyle, General Manager of Microsoft Ireland, and Jack Kirwan, Co-founder and CEO of the independent restaurant chain Sprout & Co., on a panel, discussing Dublin’s strengths and challenges, which was moderated by noted journalist and broadcaster Bryan Dobson.

The capital’s electricity distribution network is among the oldest in Ireland, and the water and wastewater infrastructure also needs to be significantly upgraded, according to O’Neill. “Infrastructure has a number of problems: it’s expensive, it takes a long time to put in, you often don’t see it, and it’s enormously disruptive,” he said.

The immediate benefits of water or electricity upgrades are less obvious than transport infrastructure such as new trams, he noted. Catherine Doyle advocated for a joined-up approach: “If we’re going to dig up and put down electricity cables, we should do the water [infrastructure] at the same time,” she said. “It’s common sense.”

As someone whose six Sprout restaurants in Dublin city centre would be directly affected by dug-up streets, Jack Kirwan was generous in his outlook. “It certainly would be short-term disruptive but it’s good to be thinking long-term for the city,” he said. “Personally, I would be okay with it, if it’s contributing to a better Dublin city.”

Planning for Predictability

Business leaders crave certainty, but it is often absent from the delivery of infrastructure projects. Objections and legal challenges to planning decisions are commonplace, the panel noted.

“When things go into the planning system, no one is really sure when they’re coming out,” said Catherine Doyle. “We need a level of predictability around project delivery; collaboration and coordination between the multiple organisations and departments has to happen.”

Colm O’Neill noted that new planning legislation is in place, while Minister Chambers has set up a new Infrastructure Division in his Department and has also formed the Accelerating Infrastructure Taskforce to identify and unblock barriers to infrastructure delivery. Securing “social licence” from residents and business owners is also crucial to success.

“If people know what’s coming and know what the benefit will be, then they are more likely to sign up for it,” said Colm O’Neill. “Dublin needs a vision to communicate to people ‘we’re going through a phase of major infrastructure investment - it’s going to be expensive; it’s going to be disruptive but, at the end, there’s a city that’s worth it’.”

Action on Affordable Housing

Within the infrastructure category, the KPMG research highlights housing as the biggest challenge and the area needing greatest improvement; 60 per cent of respondents say affordable housing should be prioritised. In contrast, the second highest-ranked priority is affordable healthcare, at 20 per cent.

Catherine Doyle said a housing shortage is often a sign of a successful economy. Our capital city is now a highly desirable destination for people to come to live and work. Microsoft alone has 97 nationalities represented on site, bringing a richness of ideas and diversity that’s very powerful in an innovative environment. And whilst the country has benefitted from significant population growth over the last 10 years, Doyle recognised “we didn’t plan our infrastructure growth in line with economic growth and are now at an inflection point where we need to address it.”

Initiatives to promote city living, including ‘living over the shop’ “could be genuinely transformative”, said Jack Kirwan. He noted that when his business rents a premises, up to 90 per cent of the rent may be attributed to the ground floor and only 10 per cent for the upper floors. “It could be a home for somebody and also transform the value of the building,” he said.

Encouraging Enterprise

Minister Chambers noted that the future of Dublin is also “inextricably linked” to its appeal as a place to do business and its ability to attract investment. For Jack Kirwan and other Dublin businesses, footfall is a key metric – and it has never recovered to pre-Covid-19 levels.

“I started out with one restaurant and it’s incredibly difficult,” he said. “We have got it so right with FDI and multinational companies, but we also have to think about the other side, about the people running small businesses that want to stay small.”

Cities such as Amsterdam support small businesses to set up and scale up, with funding and specific zoning for certain types of shops to maintain variety in the city. “If footfall keeps going down, we really need to think about how we can get people into the city, about cultural wellbeing and urban appeal,” said Kirwan.

Indeed, the Dublin 2040 research ranks ‘Urban Appeal’ as a key priority for Dublin businesses, ahead of items such as governance, talent, economy and sustainability.

Making Dublin Dynamic

Beyond infrastructure and utilities, cities are defined by their “feel”, whether it’s the cacophony of New York streets or the hum of New Delhi even at 1am. “In Dublin, we have the start of that feeling of being a really vibrant city where things are happening,” said Colm O’Neill.

Jack Kirwan attributes some of the city’s atmosphere to its unique small retailers, independent businesses and Dublin pubs that can’t be found elsewhere. “They are the types of businesses that make you want to walk around Dublin, that make people feel good, that make tourists want to come back. It’s where people want to go, where the energy is,” he said.

A significant urban regeneration in Bordeaux, which has a similar population to Dublin, offers insights, said Catherine Doyle. Its revival was a ten-year project involving heavy infrastructure development, investment in residential areas and pedestrianisation of the city centre.

“Getting more people to reside in the city and creating more of those spaces would add an enormous amount to Dublin, unlike a city that clears out after the working day,” she said.

Everything on the table

Speaking during a lively Q&A session at the launch, Sean O’Driscoll, former Chief Executive and Chairman of Glen Dimplex Group and a member of the new Accelerating Infrastructure Taskforce, said Ireland’s infrastructure is in crisis and requires an emergency response. Last year, Ireland ranked fourth in the IMD World Competitiveness Ranking, out of 67 economies, but ranked 38th out of 67 for basic infrastructure.

The Taskforce comprises six members from commercial semi-state companies and six independent experts with experience in infrastructure delivery. Highlighting issues around planning and the need for multi-year funding for utilities, O’Driscoll said Minister Chambers had given assurance “everything is on the table” to help resolve project blockages.

Michele Connolly, former KPMG Head of EMA Global Infrastructure and a member of the Accelerating Infrastructure Taskforce, said that a vision for Dublin and Ireland is missing. “We need people to be brave now, for something that is going to make a difference in 20 or 30 years. We need stronger and more vocal support, from corporates and individuals, to support the brave decisions needed to be made by Government,” she said.

Meanwhile, David McRedmond, Chief Executive of An Post and Chairman of the Dublin City Taskforce, which reported its recommendations last year, said Dublin needed dedicated marketing and communications to promote its appeal. “We’ve never taken the marketing and communication seriously enough for Dublin. The narrative needs to change,” he said.

Looking ahead: Mindset and Mobilisation

Referencing Dublin’s economic resilience in recovering from the financial crash and other setbacks, Ryan McCarthy backed the city to succeed into the future. “This is not just about capital: it’s about mobilisation, it’s about execution, it’s about approaching the problems in a different way. This agenda is important for the whole country, not just Dublin as the capital city.”

He highlighted that KPMG has been in Dublin since 1877 and is “deeply invested” in the city, with 3,000 employees there, and plans to move into a purpose-built, state-of-the-art, city centre headquarters in summer 2026. The young, skilled population is Dublin’s “superpower”, he said, noting the capital’s population is forecast to continue growing to 2040 and beyond.

“With the right focus, the right investment and the right leadership, we can ensure that our capital is not just ready for 2040 but thriving by the time it arrives,” said Ryan McCarthy.

Get in touch

At KPMG we’re all about helping make cities better places. Our experience and expertise in Irish cities as well as in urban areas worldwide, makes us uniquely placed to help city decision - makers, policy stakeholders, infrastructure leaders and private companies who want to move quickly to make our cities better places.

If you would like to find out more about how we can help you achieve your ambitions for Dublin or further afield - we’d be delighted to hear from you. Contact Hazel Cryan at Dublin2040@kpmg.ie.