Minister Donohoe publishes the Build 2024 report examining Construction Sector Performance and Capacity

The Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform, Paschal Donohoe, has today (Tuesday 11 June) published the Build 2024 - Construction Sector Performance and Capacity.

The report provides a comprehensive insight and a number of key findings into various aspects of the construction and built environment sector including costs, planning, skills, productivity and sustainability.

The report highlights a variety of positive trends in the construction sector in 2022 and 2023, including:

• there were over 41,000 planning permissions for housing units in 2023; an increase of 21% over 2022
• 17,601 homes were upgraded to a BER rating of B2 or above in 2023; an increase of 108% relative to 2022
• construction and construction-related apprentice registrations increased by 3% and 2% respectively in 2023, relative to 2022

The report also outlines a number of initiatives that the public and private sectors have underway to increase the efficiency and productivity of the construction sector as it responds to the significant challenges of recent years, such as COVID-19 restrictions, inflationary pressures, and supply chain disruptions.

Furthermore, inflationary pressure is easing across many construction materials and the number of apprentices in the construction sector exceeded 20,000 in 2023, which is ensuring that the pipeline of skilled workers in the sector continues to grow.

Project Ireland 2040 necessitates a competitive, dynamic and sustainable construction sector capable of delivering new social, economic and climate resilient infrastructure. To achieve this outcome, the construction sector must foster an innovative and sustainable approach capable of meeting the needs of our growing population.

Publishing the report, Minister Donohoe said:

P J Rudden, Chair of the CSG Sub-Group, stated:

Build 2024 - Construction Sector Performance and Capacity.

Project Ireland 2040

Project Ireland 2040 is the government’s long-term overarching strategy to make Ireland a better country for all its people. The plan changes how investment is made in public infrastructure in Ireland, moving away from the approach of the past, which saw public investment spread too thinly and investment decisions that did not align with a well-thought-out and defined strategy. Alongside the development of physical infrastructure, Project Ireland 2040 supports business and communities across all of Ireland in realising their potential.

The National Development Plan 2021 - 2030 sets out departmental allocations to 2025 and a total public investment of €165 billion over the period 2021-2030. As set out in the Summer Economic Statement (SES) 2023, an additional €2.25 billion of capital funding was made available to be allocated in the 2024 to 2026 period. This funding will facilitate the progression of important projects and enable more rapid development of key Programme for Government commitments, such as the delivery of actions to fulfil our climate action plan commitments, the provision of more housing and enhanced education facilities. It is estimated that an annual average of up to approximately 47,000 direct and 33,000 indirect construction jobs will be sustained over the course of the NDP.

Construction Sector Group (CSG)

The Construction Sector Group (CSG) was established in 2018 in order to ensure regular and open dialogue between Government and the construction sector. The group meets once a quarter. The industry bodies represented are:

• Construction Industry Federation
• Irish Congress of Trade Unions
• Building Materials Federation
• Engineers Ireland
• Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland
• Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland
• Association of Consulting Engineers of Ireland
• Irish Planning Institute

The Build 2024 report forms an important source of evidence to inform the work of the CSG and the CSG’s Innovation and Digital Adoption Sub-Group. The CSG strives to alleviate some of the key challenges faced in the construction sector, through the support of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) to increase efficiency and digital adoption, Building Information Modelling (BIM) and ePlanning, amongst other initiatives.

Increasing productivity in the construction and built environment sectors is a key priority for the government. The level of output from the industry will increase through the adoption of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC). There is significant and growing capacity in the Two-dimensional (2D) MMC residential sector. Timber frame and some other 2D MMC systems are well established in the market and are estimated to have delivered approximately 10,000 new homes in 2023. The Volumetric, or 3D sector, is at a very early stage of maturity in Ireland and will need to be developed in order for it to support delivery at scale.

Evidence suggests that an MMC approach to building has the potential to increase the speed of delivery of new homes through the adoption of innovation by 30%, reduce costs by a potential 25% and advance improvements in quality and energy efficiency. The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE) has commissioned research to develop a dashboard of metrics for MMC adoption to be released in 2024.

The State is also leading by example in terms of this transition to MMC through the construction of public housing using MMC and strengthening capacity within the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) to support the efficient Agrément certification process for MMC.

The Accelerated Social Housing Delivery Programme targets delivery of 1,500 social homes, leveraging MMC approaches by the end of 2024. A total of 36 sites have been identified across 13 local authorities. Six local authority groupings have been created to facilitate regional frameworks for both contractors and consultants. Contractor frameworks for groups 1, 2, 5 & 6 have been advertised on e-tenders.

Furthermore, an MMC Demonstration Park is being developed in Mount Lucas, County Offaly. This Demonstration Park will be a crucial resource for developers and construction professionals involved in delivering high-quality and affordable homes using MMC.

The CSG operates under the Transparency Code, with all meeting agendas and minutes published online on the department’s website.