Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for being with us today. MMC is going to be the future of this industry. It is about using technology and innovation to deliver badly needed homes quickly and at scale. We obviously need the products to make that happen but we also need the workforce. I heard a representative of the CIF on the radio this morning mentioning the Intreo fair that took place on Friday. There was a construction skills and future build initiatives exhibition in the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght.

Adrianne Mooney, Siobhan Lawlor and their team did an excellent job. I really enjoyed the event. It was great to get to see how many people were interested in working and upskilling in this area. It was also interesting to chat to so many companies – big companies and smaller contractors – that were all investing in upskilling and modern methods of construction. I wish to call out and recognise St. Andrews Resource Centre which is training hundreds and hundreds of people in construction work and getting them onto sites. It is doing an incredibly special initiative at the moment.

I was at the 2016 exhibition in Dublin city that Deputy McAuliffe spoke about. There has been no denying that Ireland has been slow to catch on. It is interesting to hear the recommendations about what we can do to change that. I am hearing that design and construction processes need to change, procurement strategies need to be updated, planning systems need to be more consultation-led in order to avoid delays through appeals and that situation, and the talent and the skills need to be developed. However, ultimately, the culture needs to change. If the culture changes, there is then a pipeline of demand and, therefore, there will be an increase in production and things will happen in a more streamlined way as quickly as possible. We heard suggestions today around planning codes, grants, training, standards and investment needed. I would be interested to hear the three key takeaways from each of the witnesses around what we can do quickly to help us on that pathway. For example, what grants need to be put in place? What has to happen from a procurement perspective to streamline things and make it happen more quickly? What needs to happen immediately around design? If there were short-term measures that members could put the Government under pressure to invest in, that would be beneficial. We all want to see things happen in this area and things move forward quickly.