Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 November 2025
323. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment if his Department will commission, in partnership with Enterprise Ireland and the Local Enterprise Offices, a survey of construction SMEs in Cork city and county to identify barriers to starter-home delivery including material costs, labour shortages, access to finance and regulatory burdens; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65731/25]
View answerSince 2022, Enterprise Ireland’s Built to Innovate programme has focused on driving productivity and innovation, including Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) adoption, amongst residential offsite manufacturing and housebuilding companies in the domestic market all over the country, including in Cork City. Through this programme, Enterprise Ireland is establishing a close relationship with SMEs in the sector, all over Ireland. There is no plan currently to undertake a survey of construction SMEs in Cork city.
Under the new Housing Plan Delivering Homes, Building Communities, Enterprise Ireland will increase its level of company engagement under Built to Innovate, promoting tailored financial and soft supports, aiming to achieve a doubling of the €6.5 million already invested in small and medium sized firms in the residential construction sector.
Built to Innovate offers different grant aid packages across four areas. The Digital package supports the implementation of Industry 4.0, digitally enabled Lean systems to develop offsite manufacturing capability to increase output and produce more complex, higher value products. The Lean construction grant package is designed to deliver higher levels of on time and on budget project delivery, through implementing Lean methodologies onsite and the increased use of offsite and near site production. The Research & Innovation grant package is designed to support the development of products that will increase Pre-Manufactured Value (PMV), and reduce the embodied carbon, in residential construction. Finally, through the Sustainability package, Enterprise Ireland can support clients on their journey to sustainability through targeted grants that enable them to develop high impact carbon reduction plans.
To date, 45 companies have been supported under the Built to Innovate programme, including Primary Structure Offsite Manufacturers, Homebuilders and Main Contractors, and Subcontractors and design teams. A total of over €6.5 million in grants has been allocated to supporting these businesses over the last three years and Enterprise Ireland has also facilitated industry workshops to explore challenges and opportunities for the residential construction sector.
My Department is engaged in work to identify and address barriers to adoption of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC), and has established and chairs the MMC Leadership and Integration Group. The Group involves a range of Departments and Agencies and engages directly with industry representative bodies to better understand the challenges for the industry. This Group is taking an ecosystem view on addressing barriers to wider deployment of MMC and innovation adoption in residential construction, including a range of industry and public sector challenges across: procurement; regulation and standards; skills development; enterprise capacity and capability; research & innovation; and access to finance.
My Department is also represented in the implementation structures for the Government’s Housing Plan, including the Industry Capability Working Group, which meets monthly and to which my Department and Enterprise Ireland provide regular updates on barriers and enablers relating to SME development and scaling in the residential construction sector.
The Deputy may also be aware that in response to concerns expressed by the ESRI, Irish Fiscal Advisory Council and the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council around the major demands on construction workforce, the Department of Further and Higher Education have appointed Indecon to complete a report analysing skills supply and demand, and to develop a national framework for meeting priority construction workforce needs. The research for this report is being managed by an oversight group of officials led by the Department of Further and Higher Education, and including my Department, the Department of Housing, Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment, and the Department of Public Expenditure. The conclusions of this draft report, which is currently being finalised, reflect on a number of factors including: Multi-Sector demand pressures, Low productivity in the construction sector, Skills shortfall, especially in skilled trades, and Domestic training limitations
In relation to cost of building homes, the Housing for All Total Development Cost report was published in September 2024 by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. This provides a detailed examination of overall development costs across four building types. The study was disseminated to the construction sector in Ireland so as to inform decision-making on construction projects by clients and design teams at design, planning, tender and construction stages.
Finally, the Build Report is an annual overview of construction sector performance and capacity, by presenting the latest data and policy developments to show construction sector trends in: investment, planning and delivery, costs, employment, skills, MMC adoption, productivity and sustainability. In doing so, the report assesses construction sector capacity and identifies policy implications for delivery of the National Development Plan (NDP). Built Report 2025 was published this month by the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and can be accessed here: assets.gov.ie/static/documents/48e002fa/Build_Report_2025.pdf
