Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank all the witnesses. Some of them drifted into some of the areas we have discussed in the Planning and Development Bill as well. It is always an issue in housing that one area will touch so closely on another. There are so many different aspects to it. I will focus on the topic of modern methods of construction. I raised this point at the last meeting. We have been dealing with the concept of modern methods of construction since they were first mooted as being a solution when Ballymun was built. When south Finglas was constructed in the 1970s, there were elements of prefabrication in that. The more recent phase, certainly during my time, was from 2015 onwards, when the Dublin Region Homeless Executive put on display a large number of potential modular-type builds, including multistorey apartments etc. In 2019, the then Fine Gael Government constructed some homes in Ballymun and in south Finglas. Therefore, there is some experience of modular construction in my area. My question is for each of the witnesses, but perhaps first for the industry. Given the length of time that this has been rattling around, why is it not something that construction companies have been quicker to lean into? This is particularly given the costs on the construction side.

Second, has the CIF given any consideration to whether the registered employment agreements or sectoral agreements apply to off-site construction? From the perspectives of many construction companies, while the sectoral agreements provide an assurance for employees, they also provide an assurance for reputable employers who are not competing against those people who are trying to exploit low wages, etc. The question is, are those people who are taking part in prefabricated construction off site in factories also covered by the registered agreement, or has there been any consideration of that?

My last question is to all three witnesses who can jump in as appropriate. Given that we engaged in this construction of modular builds as late as 2017 and 2018, and given that several areas have been examined, has anybody gone back at the quality or the delivery in that case or its cost benefit? When I asked the OPW last week, I was surprised that its representatives said they did not go back to look at were effectively 2-D modular builds. It was only two or three years ago. I am surprised by that. Have any of the witnesses' organisations looked at what happened there from a professional perspective and at how it can be improved on? We might lead first with the representatives from the CIF.