Mr. Ross O'Colmain:

The angle that we look at this from, which is one of the core pieces of Enterprise Ireland, is that we support our clients to respond to evolving market demands. Decarbonising construction, whether it is through materials or services, is a major area of growth. We have been promoting that as a business opportunity to our clients. Our UK office in particular has run a series around net zero in the UK. What that means for us is that companies will then invest in developing capabilities to meet the market demand and we are there to support them when they are doing it.

If I may, I will give one example to illustrate the point. A precast concrete panel manufacturer came to us who is exporting into the UK market. It is seeing that the demands for public and private procurement is quite exacting around the carbon content of the panels. We were happy to provide the company with the support it sought to develop an innovative panel by incorporating different fibres that would reduce the thickness of the cement panel ultimately from 150 mm to 20 mm. This would be cladding on the exterior of buildings, perhaps even timber-framed buildings. Apart from the carbon content of the cement, there were significant reductions in the transportation costs. For the company, it was about enhancing its value proposition to the market and that is a core issue that Enterprise Ireland has worked on with its clients for many years.