RIAI Pre-Budget Submission 2027
Delivering Quality in the Built Environment for a Sustainable and Inclusive Ireland
Ireland is currently facing a convergence of structural challenges. These include a persistent housing crisis, accelerating climate obligations, vacancy and dereliction in towns and rural areas, and a rapidly growing population projected to reach up to 7.25 million by 2050. These pressures require a fundamental shift in how we plan, design, and deliver our built environment. The response must move beyond short-term output targets and instead focus on long-term value, resilience, and quality.
Budget 2027 presents an opportunity to embed value-led design thinking at the heart of public investment. The RIAI’s position is clear: high-quality design is not an optional enhancement but a critical tool in achieving better economic, environmental, and social outcomes. Strategic investment in architecture, planning, and professional expertise will deliver more sustainable communities, more efficient infrastructure, and better long-term value for the State. Architects should be engaged at the earliest stages of project development and retained throughout delivery, recognising that their role extends beyond design to safeguarding quality, coordinating complex project requirements and ensuring that public investment achieves its intended outcomes.
The RIAI is calling for targeted, practical interventions across three interconnected areas: the delivery of housing and communities; the strengthening of the construction sector; and the reform and resourcing of the State’s own systems. To achieve these goals, Budget 2027 must establish the foundations for the State to act as an exemplary and informed client. This requires resourcing public bodies to build internal expertise, ensuring seamless and uninterrupted payment pipelines, and advancing digital construction capabilities like Building Information Modelling (BIM).
Furthermore, the State must democratise industry performance by investing in the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) to provide comprehensive, open access to building standards and technical guidance. This vital resource removes financial barriers to compliance, empowering designers, local authorities, and small businesses alike to build to the highest levels of safety, energy and climate resilience. Finally, these initiatives cannot succeed in isolation; they must be anchored by securing the multi-annual funding required to fully implement the National Policy on Architecture, Places for People.
You can read the full RIAI Pre-Budget Submission 2027 below.
