Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 21 January 2026
167. Deputy Rory Hearne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to detail his plans to build public construction capacity to ensure Ireland has the workers needed to deliver a housing savings scheme in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5102/26]
View answerDelivering Homes Building Communities commits to a range of initiatives to increase the skills required to support the delivery of 300,000 homes by 2030.
Enabling the wider adoption of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) is a critical aspect to achieve this. It estimated that if there is widespread adoption of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) almost 69,000 new entrants will be needed, compared to almost 79,000 if there is continued use of more traditional building methods.
A renewed action plan to promote careers in construction is currently being finalised by Department of Further and Higher Education Research Innovation and Science to boost recruitment, improve training opportunities, and build capacity across the sector and will be published shortly.
Apprenticeship programmes will be expanded further, with over 9,000 apprentices registered in 2024 — more than half in construction-related areas. By 2030, the goal is to reach 12,500 registrations per year. A new 5-year Action Plan for Apprenticeships (2026–2030) will guide this growth and help expand the range of skills on offer.
In addition, the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, in conjunction with the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs, is currently leading on an Action Plan to implement the assessment of Skills for Modern Methods of Construction and expand MMC training.
The National Construction Training Campus at Mount Lucas plays a key role in upskilling workers, offering hands-on training in a realistic site environment. Under Delivering Homes Building Communities Government will continue to invest in The National Construction Training Campus.
An National Framework for Meeting Priority Construction Workforce Needs has been developed. The Framework is designed to respond to the scale of the challenge and build upon the foundations of the work already underway across Government to increase the capacity of the construction sector. The Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science is now working with partners to deliver the recommendations under the Framework.
Together, these initiatives will help ensure Ireland has the skilled workforce needed to deliver high quality homes at scale
