Mr. Hubert Fitzpatrick:

There are three strands to Deputy Kenny's question. I will take some and then hand over to my colleagues. There is quite a lot of innovation taking place in the housing area at the moment. We have traditional build, build with light gauge steel, timber frame, pre-cast concrete and modular construction. Approximately 48% of all scheme houses being built now are timber frame and that percentage has been growing. That said, there are restrictions on the height of timber frame units and we need to ensure we can reconcile building regulations with fire safety requirements in the use of timber frames.

There is still a body of work to be done to further increase use of timber in higher-scale developments, but significant research is now under way. The priority is now speed and cost. We must also look at what happened with the whole modular piece in the UK, where there were many failures with regard to the manufacturers of particular modular units. We must ensure that we do not repeat those mistakes. Nevertheless, we have a growing industry here that has potential. That will have to be sorted out in the procurement process going forward.

Mr. Stapleton would be better able to answer the question on road construction. Then Mr. Ryan can take on the issue of recycled concrete.