Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for the question. I agree with him about the urgency in this area. It is something we have been working on for a number of years. I am glad it is coming to the stage that it will be up and running very soon. The question concerns the important issue of the adoption and use of new technologies in the construction sector in the context of delivering the Government's ambitions in Housing for All as well as in energy efficiency and decarbonisation of the built environment.

As the Deputy is aware, Housing for All is our plan to turn the aspiration of home ownership into a reality, to ensure everybody has access to sustainable, good quality housing, to give stability for renters and protection for people at risk of homelessness and to build on the work of Rebuilding Ireland. Addressing the high cost of residential construction, along with relatively low construction sector productivity and innovation is a key element in Housing for All and will be crucial for the plan to succeed. There are a range of actions in Housing for All which target the cost of construction and improving productivity and innovation levels in the sector to make sure we have a sustainable system over the next 20 or 30 years where we know we need to build over 300,000 homes.

The establishment of a construction technology centre is one of these key actions, and my Department is currently working on this with Enterprise Ireland. This initiative also supports Project Ireland 2040 and the work of the construction sector group's innovation and digital adoption sub-group. Work on the new construction technology centre is on schedule to be delivered at the end of this year. Enterprise Ireland's process to select a host organisation is now at an advanced stage.

Once established, the centre will serve as an innovation hub which will bring researchers and industry together to drive innovation and technology adoption. As a reflection of the crucial importance of improving the affordability of homes, the centre will have an initial focus on residential construction and innovation in housing. To further promote innovation in the residential construction sector, Enterprise Ireland is now offering a range of supports to these businesses, including innovation vouchers, digitalisation vouchers, innovation partnerships, lean business offers and others. The new construction technology centre, together with these schemes, will stimulate the development and adoption of new and innovative technologies, enabling builders to build better houses at a lower cost and higher speed and with greater energy efficiency.

Taken together, these initiatives will help make good on the ambition set out in the Housing for All plan to ensure that everybody has access to sustainable, good quality, well located housing to purchase or rent at an affordable price. They are very much in line with our climate targets as well. To give the Deputy an update, the call for proposals ended in March just gone.

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