Housing Provision

Wednesday, 11 February 2026

Questions (121, 122, 123)

Ken O'Flynn

Question:

121. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment whether his Department has defined any sector-level performance indicators for the Built to Innovate initiative, beyond firm-level project assessments; to measure impacts on residential housing output, construction timelines, or unit delivery costs; and if not, the reason his Department satisfies itself that the initiative contributes meaningfully to national housing delivery and productivity objectives. [10746/26]

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Ken O'Flynn

Question:

122. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the rationale for scheduling the first independent external evaluation of the Built to Innovate initiative for 2027, notwithstanding that €6.8 million in public grant approvals have already issued; and to confirm whether his Department considered commissioning an earlier evaluation to inform decisions on programme continuation, expansion, or redesign. [10747/26]

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Ken O'Flynn

Question:

123. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment whether any further funding allocations or programme expansions under the Built to Innovate initiative will proceed in advance of an independent external evaluation; whether his Department has considered making future funding contingent on demonstrated sector-level productivity or housing delivery outcomes; and if not, the governance arrangements relied upon to ensure value for money for additional Exchequer funding. [10748/26]

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Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment

I propose to take Questions Nos. 121, 122 and 123 together.

Enterprise Ireland’s Built to Innovate initiative is based around existing Enterprise Ireland supports. It is not a standalone funding programme, but rather a framework that brings together a range of existing grant aid offerings and opens them to Irish residential construction companies to enable them to innovate and adopt Modern Methods of Construction.

Enterprise Ireland evaluates applications to the Built to Innovate programme using structured assessment criteria aligned to each 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.

Under the Roadmap for increased adoption of MMC in public housing delivery, Enterprise Ireland commissioned RSM in April 2024 to evaluate the Built to Innovate Initiative in order to provide some baseline information about its effectiveness and impact. RSM issued its findings in October 2024. Enterprise Ireland will evaluate the Built to Innovate programme in 2027; this is five years since the initiation of the Programme.

Question No. 122 answered with Question No. 121.

Question No. 123 answered with Question No. 121.