Stripe co-founder John Collison criticises Irish infrastructure planning laws

The Limerick-born tech billionaire, who has previously been critical of the slow level of housing construction in Ireland, made his remarks in the wake of a solar farm being denied planning permission in Westmeath.

“Has anyone ever surveyed Irish people on whether they actually want all the red tape and ecological paperwork that prevent housing, energy infrastructure, transit and other important works from being built?” he posted on X, the site formerly known as Twitter, referring to the refusal of Westmeath County Council to grant permission for an 87-hectare solar farm proposed by an Irish subsidiary of the French company Neoen.

The solar application, at a site near Crookedwood, was turned down by Westmeath County Council for environmental reasons and because it was considered to be too big.

Mr Collison is understood not to have any connection with the solar power project.

Mr Collison, whose company recently laid people off in the tech downturn but is still valued at over €40bn, has previously questioned the speed, efficiency and strategy of Ireland’s planning processes.

Last year, in an interview with the Sunday independent, he questioned the nature of the country’s housing delays, which have emerged as among the country’s worst social and political problems in the last five years.

“Why is it so hard to build new housing in Ireland? We clearly need to have a bunch more of it. Why can’t we build up?” he said in the interview.

“I think we have to do something about it. Any solution that isn’t building more housing is essentially saying to some set of people who want to live in Dublin that they don’t get to live there, which is kind of a dissatisfying answer.”

Mr Collison has also been critical of the time it can take to process an application in Ireland’s work visa system, an issue that disproportionately affects high-tech companies seeking to recruit experienced, in-demand engineers from abroad.

“Why can’t it just take a week?” he said in the Sunday Independent interview.

“When you get your passport renewed here, it’s brilliant, really quick and efficient. Can we get those people who do the passport renewal system around the visa system?”

Mr Collison recently bought the 1,120-acre Abbeyleix estate, including an 18th century mansion and ancient woodland, for over €11m.

A keen pilot, he is also an investor in a syndicate that bought Dublin’s Weston Airport.

Stripe, which is co-headquartered in San Francisco and Dublin, is one of the world’s top online payments companies.