{"id":10385,"date":"2026-04-03T12:34:32","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T12:34:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wangzhuan-idea.icu\/?p=10385"},"modified":"2026-04-03T12:34:32","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T12:34:32","slug":"global-instability-must-not-derail-key-infrastructure-projects-says-irish-construction-boss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wangzhuan-idea.icu\/?p=10385","title":{"rendered":"Global instability must not derail key infrastructure projects, says Irish construction boss"},"content":{"rendered":"
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P\u00e1draig Burke is a director of Galway-based Ward & Burke, which has grown to become one of Ireland\u2019s top three construction businesses, with turnover last year of \u20ac647m. That was up 21pc compared with 2024, according to new accounts.<\/p>\n

Revenue is expected to jump between 10pc and 15pc this year, according to Mr Burke, helping the company exceed the \u20ac700m turnover mark. It marks 25 years in business this year.<\/p>\n

The company generated \u20ac275m of its revenue in Ireland last year, \u20ac163m in the UK and \u20ac134m in the United States.<\/p>\n

The group\u2019s pre-tax profit jumped 16pc last year to \u20ac44.9m, giving it retained earnings of \u20ac200m.<\/p>\n

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We need to keep pressure on the projects that are critical<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cThe cheapest time to do infrastructure is now, because you don\u2019t know what\u2019s going to happen in the future,\u201d said Mr Burke.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor too long, Ireland has put off doing projects. It comes home to roost in terms of cost.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe infrastructure spend on water and waste water is absolutely needed because there are other serious constraints and needs around housing and public health.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to keep pressure on the projects that are critical.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ones around the fringes might be affected, but who knows? It\u2019s a timing thing…\u201d<\/p>\n

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<\/svg><\/p>\n
\"P\u00e1draig<\/div>\n<\/div>
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P\u00e1draig Burke of Ward & Burke<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

A significant amount of Ward & Burke\u2019s business comes from the construction of water and waste-water infrastructure across the markets in which it operates. The company employs more than 1,500 people.<\/p>\n

Its clients include Uisce \u00c9ireann, the OPW, the Department of the Marine, the Port of Cork and a number of county councils. In the UK, it works with groups including Thames Water, Yorkshire Water and United Utilities.<\/p>\n

Among the projects it has worked on is the \u20ac76m Athlone main drainage scheme. It was completed last year on budget and on time, according to Mr Burke, who said it was one of the largest single projects undertaken by Uisce \u00c9ireann.<\/p>\n

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I think there\u2019s always going to be a need for our services<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The director said the group\u2019s order book is now \u201cas strong as it\u2019s ever been\u201d.<\/p>\n

The company has secured some significant international work recently, including a \u20ac135m contract with the City of Calgary in Canada and a \u20ac100m project with the Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati.<\/p>\n

Mr Burke said that he has no concerns about a slowdown in the US economy, with the ongoing volatility in the Middle East, which might be bad for his business.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have none whatsoever,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re a small player in the overall scheme of things. It doesn\u2019t take much to keep us busy. America has a population of more than 300 million people. I think there\u2019s always going to be a need for our services there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Burke said that despite its scale, Ward & Burke does not intend to pursue mergers or acquisitions.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re happy as we are,\u201d he said. \u201cWe just keep building on that foundation. It\u2019s a good model from our perspective and we don\u2019t see any reason to change it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

source<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

P\u00e1draig Burke is a director of Galway-based Ward & Burke, which has grown to become one of Ireland\u2019s top three construction businesses, with turnover last year of \u20ac647m. That was… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10386,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[242],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10385","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editors-pick"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wangzhuan-idea.icu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10385","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wangzhuan-idea.icu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wangzhuan-idea.icu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wangzhuan-idea.icu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wangzhuan-idea.icu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10385"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wangzhuan-idea.icu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10385\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wangzhuan-idea.icu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10386"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wangzhuan-idea.icu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10385"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wangzhuan-idea.icu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10385"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wangzhuan-idea.icu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10385"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}