Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

If you look at the European indices of productivity in the construction sector, Ireland is below average. When you engage with the construction sector, part of that is there is not the same pipeline of work, or certainty into the medium or long term so they can invest in particular sectors and develop that specialist expertise. There are still a lot of contractors who are competitive and who have expertise elsewhere. Part of the response here is to give a pipeline so they can develop and deepen that expertise across particular sectors. There is a lot of work in the Department of further and higher education on increasing the number of apprenticeships. The metrics there have improved in recent years. Modern methods of construction are also one area in housing when it comes to efficiency of delivery. If we want to attract the international contractors, they have to be clear on timelines and project intent. That is what we see in the area of best practice internationally. The sectoral investment plans will help to give that certainty on capability in the construction sector for the medium term.