Kildare Quarry Delays Pose "Risk" To Housing And Infrastructure Supply, Says New Report

Wednesday, 25 June 2025 10:54

By Martin Osborne

On average, quarry planning decisions are taking over two years - "four times longer than the statutory timeframe for such decisions," the report states.

A new report from the Irish Concrete Federation says lengthy planning delays for quarries are putting Ireland’s housing and infrastructure targets at "risk".

The report says Ireland needs around one billion tonnes of sand, gravel, and stone by 2040, but new approvals for quarries are not keeping pace with demand.

On average, quarry planning decisions are taking over two years - "four times longer than the statutory timeframe for such decisions," the report states.

The Federation is calling on the government to introduce a national policy to "safeguard" the supply of these materials for future housing projects.

In Kildare, the main concerns highlighted at public meetings in the past centred around the number of HGVs travelling on roads and the environmental impact.

Some locals have even sought a judicial review of permission granted to a quarry in their area.

Planning permission has been refused for over half (56%) of proposed quarries over the 2017 – 2024 period within Kildare, Dublin, Meath and Wicklow.

The highest demand for aggregates in the State is in the Greater Dublin Area (GDA), which includes Kildare, while there are areas of "high sand and gravel potential" in the county, according to the report.

It says there is high "crushed rock potential" in northeast County Wicklow and along the Wicklow and Kildare border.