Mr. Ross O'Colmain:

Under the Housing for All plan, we have been asked to provide support for research and innovation in the domestic residential sector. When we consulted the industry, one of the strong responses we received was that there was a greater opportunity for companies to adopt modern methods of construction and increase the pre-manufactured value of construction projects. One of the key areas in this respect was the progression of the timber frame sector and how it had delivered strongly to date.

We are looking for projects. We are working with companies in the timber frame and off-site sectors on finding projects that can generate more productive builds. Using and developing innovative materials and increasing the pre-manufactured value of what can be done inside the factory are attractive projects. We are already working on a project with a group of timber frame manufacturers around design specification guidelines for timber frame buildings. Those are low-rise buildings, but we are keen to work with companies that are looking to expand their use of materials and build medium-rise developments using same.