Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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A whole range of things are happening in this space. I was in Trinity College Dublin, TCD, this morning launching a consultation on modern methods of construction. Some 48 people attended from various different elements of the construction sector, from design, to construction, to academia. One of the guest speakers was the advisor to the British Government on modern methods of construction or MMC as it is called. We are seeing a lot of that technology being rolled out in the UK at the moment. The UK has economies of scale that are hard for us to match in off-site construction of houses, building houses in massive warehouses and then craning them on site and bolting them together. However, it is true that we have made quite a lot of progress in the area of the shift to timber frame. Almost half of the houses being built are now some form of timber-frame housing. Does that mean we are as innovative as we should be in the construction sector? It does not. We can get much better at it, which, by the way, we hope will not only reduce the carbon footprint of the buildings, but also allow us to build much faster. Some estimates suggest the cost of building a house can be reduced by between 20% and 40% through innovative new methods of constructions if it is set up correctly and if the economies of scale I mentioned earlier can be achieved.

A new project called ConstructInnovate is being led by the University of Galway and TCD, UCD, UCC and one other university are also contributing to. We are investing in this space but ultimately we need to get the sector to adopt the methods. We were focusing on housing this morning. As the State procures so much concrete from the construction sector for roads, bridges, public sector buildings and so much more besides, we should try to change our procurement strategy to try to move away from concrete where possible and where it makes sense to do so in terms of construction. We should also be encouraging low-carbon concrete where possible. There are different ways to create concrete powder. The carbon content can be reduced by creating it in a way that does not require the same temperatures. I will not go into the technical side as I do not profess to be an expert, but the briefing I have received suggests it is doable. However, it is hugely expensive for the construction sector to switch over to that new method of producing concrete and it will take quite a long time. What we are talking about from a concrete perspective, is a gradual change to reduce carbon intensity in how concrete is produced and using the State's significant procurement to try to ensure we are using other building materials that are less carbon intensive. There are many examples of those, including different types of bricks, timber-frame construction and using other viable alternatives to concrete where possible. All those things are being progressed at the moment.