Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

The latest version of the national development plan, NDP, capital investment tracker provides updates on over 270 projects and 140 programmes, including almost 100 projects costing in excess of €50 million. Driving productivity and increasing innovation in construction sector capacity is imperative to the Government to deliver on the projects outlined in the NDP. The construction sector group and its subgroup are working on seven actions to increase this innovation and productivity. These include the build digital project to increase digital adoption and the establishment of the construction research centre, known as Construct Innovate, to enhance research in the construction sector, along with MMC.

An MMC leadership and integration group, led by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, has been set up. This group will ensure a co-ordinated approach between new and existing entities of MMC and will focus on the risks, challenges and barriers to promote MMC. The group has commenced mapping the existing ecosystem for MMC.

In addition, an MMC working group was established by the Construction Industry Federation, CIF, consisting of member companies from the housing, specialist mechanical and engineering services, civil engineering, modular manufacturers and general contracting companies. CIF, under the construction sector subgroup, has published reports to identify key market requirements to drive the adoption and implementation of MMC on a wider scale for both domestic and export markets. In addition, the CIF has launched the MMC smart off-site association to support the full ecosystem of companies operating in this space.

Furthermore, the demonstration park for MMC at Mount Lucas is progressing positively. The project management team, chaired by SOLAS, has been put in place and includes the Departments of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science; Housing, Local Government and Heritage; and Enterprise, Trade and Employment; and the Laois-Offaly education and training board, ETB. Major themes to be embedded into the demonstration park include productivity, innovation, cost reduction and sustainability. The expected delivery date for the park is the fourth quarter of 2023. The demonstration park is collaborating with the build digital project and Construct Innovate.

The National Standards Authority of Ireland, NSAI, is now offering certifications on the construction stage and sign-off on MMC products and building system installation compliance under building regulations. This will improve residential construction product assessment processes and ease certification of new building methods, the introduction of sustainable construction materials and oversight of on-site installation.

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