Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 June 2026
1033. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if studies have been carried out as to the demographic profile of those engaged in construction in Ireland; if he has concerns around the shortage of young people going into construction; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45145/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraA number of Government strategies have highlighted the major demands on Ireland’s construction workforce across our national priorities. With this in mind, my Department commissioned a report to examine the skills and workforce required for national residential and infrastructure construction, as well as climate action targets.
The Report on a National Framework for Meeting Priority Construction Workforce Needs (“Report”), published in March, notes that multi-sector demand pressures mean that the challenge is amplified by overlapping infrastructure agendas, with housing, infrastructure and climate targets converging into a single timeframe.
While the Report does not detail the demographic profile of those engaged in construction in Ireland, it does outline the replacement demand. This would be job openings arising as existing workers leave the labour force (through retirement, illness, career change, or other permanent exits).
Workforce demand is calculated as ‘Expansion Demand’ plus ‘Replacement Demand,’ and this represents the total level of workforce recruitment required to both grow the workforce to the required size and fill vacancies left by those departing.
The Report’s modelling framework examines three workforce demand scenarios, reflecting alternative assumptions regarding how productivity improvements may reduce labour demand as implied by the policy targets:
• No Productivity Gains (Baseline Scenario): Assumes no improvement in output per worker.
• Trend Productivity Scenario (Moderate Gains): Assumes productivity grows at ~1.8% per year, reflecting the average annual improvement observed in 2018–2023.
• MMC-Driven Productivity Scenario (High Gains): Assumes an accelerated productivity boost due to widespread adoption of MMC.
A breakdown of expansion versus replacement demand shows a shift in the composition of labour needs between 2030 and 2040.
By 2030, additional requirements range from 98,400 in the MMC scenario to 135,300 under the no productivity gains scenario. Of this, between 63% and 72% is due to expansion demand, reflecting activity growth to meet policy targets.
By 2040, replacement demand becomes the dominant driver, accounting for the majority of additional headcount across all scenarios.
The long-run weight of replacement demand across scenarios highlights the impact of the earlier expansion, as the increase in workforce entries during the later part of this decade leads to a corresponding rise in exits in the subsequent decade, resulting in elevated replacement needs by 2040 irrespective of scenario.
If the Deputy would like to learn more, the full Report is available on the gov.ie website.
I agree it is vitally important that we attract more people into the construction sector. Construction must be seen for what it is: a modern, diverse, and rewarding sector. To that end, my Department is leading on promoting careers in construction and minimising barriers to entry.
Research undertaken by my Department found a lack of knowledge and understanding about the construction industry and the roles available, a poor perception of the working environment as well as a perception that construction is not suitable for women.
In response, we implemented the cross-sector Careers in Construction Action Plan. The Plan aimed to minimise barriers, promote career opportunities, and make construction jobs more attractive to women. Between 2023 and 2025, the Plan would have had a contributory effect on a 66% increase in women in construction, 15% increase in first preference CAO choices for construction courses, and a 19% increase in the construction workforce.
We are reaching out to our young people to show them the exciting reality of a career in this dynamic and diverse sector. Promotional activity has included the Building Heroes social media campaign, a documentary on careers in construction for second-level schools, a documentary on MMC hosted by Harrison Gardner which featured on Virgin Media One, and the Build Back Home campaign aimed at skilled Irish construction workers living abroad.
The Updated Careers in Construction Action Plan was published in January 2026 and has 80% more actions than the original Plan. It is designed to continue to support efforts to increase the number of people employed in the construction sector.
