Construction Industry

Wednesday, 4 February 2026

Questions (446, 447, 448)

Ken O'Flynn

Question:

446. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment whether an independent external evaluation framework has been established to assess the value for money and productivity impact of the Built to Innovate initiative administered by Enterprise Ireland; whether any external evaluator has been appointed or procured to date; if not, whether the Minister intends to commission an independent external evaluation of the initiative in 2026 having regard to the €6.8 million in public grants approved to date; and if he will set out the expected timeline for such an evaluation. [7711/26]

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Ken O'Flynn

Question:

447. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment whether his Department or Enterprise Ireland has established metrics to assess whether the Built to Innovate initiative has delivered demonstrable productivity gains at sector level within the residential construction industry, including impacts on housing output, build times, or unit delivery costs beyond firm-level performance indicators; if such sector-level metrics exist, to outline them; if not, to explain how the effectiveness of the initiative is being assessed in terms of its contribution to national housing delivery objectives. [7712/26]

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Ken O'Flynn

Question:

448. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment whether any further expansion or additional funding allocations under the Built to Innovate initiative will be made prior to the completion of an independent external evaluation of the programme; whether consideration has been given to making future funding contingent on demonstrated sector-level productivity or housing delivery outcomes; and if he will outline the governance arrangements in place to ensure value for money where additional Exchequer funding is proposed. [7713/26]

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Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation

I propose to take Questions Nos. 446, 447 and 448 together.

Enterprise Ireland’s Built to Innovate initiative is based around existing Enterprise Ireland supports. The Built to Innovate initiative itself is not a fund, but a collection of existing Enterprise Ireland grant aid packages.

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 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.

Enterprise Ireland evaluates applications to the Built to Innovate programme using structured assessment criteria aligned to the programme's goals of improving productivity, innovation, and cost efficiency in Ireland’s residential construction sector. Productivity and Innovation Projects are evaluated on whether the project introduces a new process, or significantly improves an existing one, and can demonstrate a measurable impact on reducing the cost of home building in Ireland.

Enterprise Ireland evaluates whether the proposed project aligns with the programme’s core objectives of enhancing:

• Usage of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC)

• Lean construction processes

• Digitalisation and enhanced data use

• Research and innovation related to construction productivity

Each of the Built to Innovate grant streams has its own more detailed criteria.

Enterprise Ireland will separately evaluate the Built to Innovate programme in 2027.

Question No. 447 answered with Question No. 446.

Question No. 448 answered with Question No. 446.