Dr. Robert Sweeney:

I think everyone is in agreement on the need to move away from our current model of building. TASC will begin work on how to kick-start modern methods of construction in Ireland. As a preliminary, there is a number of challenges to scaling up modern methods of construction. First, there is the lack of a stable pipeline and stable demand from, for instance, the Government. We all know that the construction sector, which is cyclical everywhere, is particularly cyclical in Ireland given all the problems we have. The industry would typically say we need a stable source of demand. There are other barriers too. I understand there are effective regulatory barriers which limit the uses for which timber can be used to build houses. There was a recent report. Limits on combustible materials effectively restrict the use of timber buildings to four storeys. Obviously, safety issues should not be dismissed but there has to be some way of addressing that because even Scotland uses modular homes and timber homes much more than Ireland does.

We could potentially look at a construction-type industrial policy where a certain percentage of new builds use modern methods of construction. Under Housing for All, Ireland is set to scale up building of social and public housing, particularly direct build as opposed to other forms of social housing delivery, for example, Part 5 turn-key where essentially the private developer gets to design the house. With direct build, the Government could specify that a certain percentage of new builds using direct build should use off-site construction. This certainly needs to be done but there are a number of challenges. Maybe there should also be more standardisation of homes as well. The nature of construction is such that the product is not standardised. Every site has specific challenges. It is not a fungible product like we see in a lot of manufacturing but greater standardisation of design in Ireland is something to look at.