Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Tuesday, 3 May 2022
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government
Carbon and Energy within the Construction Industry: Discussion (Resumed)
Mr. Ross O'Colmain:
I would answer that question in two short parts. First, to allude to what Mr. Christal said, we promote international diversification as a way of achieving scale. We are a small island economy at the end of the day and one of the lessons we learned from our previous construction boom is that those companies that had well-diversified businesses across western Europe, in particular, were the ones that survived better. Our message continues to be the same today. Whether it is a services company or a materials or product company, they should look to further markets where there is greater scale for them to produce. That will give them the assurance they need to make the necessary capital or research investment to produce those products and we support them with that.
Second, the action under Housing for All calls on us to help companies with productivity, research and innovation. That productivity aspect is about doing more with less. We are looking to support companies in this industry with lean, digital and innovation supports which will make them more productive and more able to meet the demand in the market quicker and cheaper.
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