Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We are facing a range of challenges, one of which is that our housing stock is limited and homelessness is at an all-time high. There is a need to increase stock safely and effectively. Construction has never been as important as it is now. Therefore, we must ensure that, during an increased demand for house building, no chances are taken with safety or competence. Developing criteria further is important, not just for the reasons I have outlined but also for making the sector safe, recognising workers' skills, promoting high standards and increasingly attracting the workers we need.

The BearingPoint report, which contributed to informing this legislation, noted the importance of and the need to ensure training programmes continue to meet the sector's challenging needs in terms of the changing demands being made of the industry, the increasing focus on energy efficiency and the additional demand for new builds. I welcome the inclusion of safety skills in workers' skills development. Unfortunately, construction is up there with agriculture in terms of workplace injuries and fatalities. According to the Health and Safety Authority, there has been a steady increase in workplace fatalities in construction. There were 11 in 2016. That number dropped to five in 2017 and remained at that level in 2018, but it increased to 12 in 2019. In 2020, the number of fatalities hit 16. That same year, approximately 770 non-fatal injuries were also reported. If a licensing model like the one this Bill provides for can reduce the number of such incidents, it is welcome. If the model helps to reduce the high cost of insurance in the sector, that is positive as well.

We also need to look at safety in another way. A considerable number of workplace accidents in this sector are due to working at heights and in poor weather conditions. A measure to combat such accidents would focus on transitioning to rapidly developing alternative construction methods, for example, manufacturing in indoor environments and assembling on site. These modern building methods have been advocated for by Sinn Féin for some time and need to be promoted.

The associated purpose of the Bill is to develop skills continually and to renew licences accordingly. If this is rolled out effectively, it could improve the prospects of our workers, have a positive impact on housing provision and serve to make the industry more attractive. For these to be realised, apprenticeship planning must be given more focus. I welcome the recently opened Construction Skills Training Centre in Tipperary town. It is great to see. The skills developed there will be of great benefit locally. We must ensure that apprentices are incentivised to stay here instead of going to Australia, for example.

With the added demand for housing, new developments in the industry in terms of technology and the additional skills required, we need an assurance that the Bill's provisions are not just ambitious, but are also reflected in reality on sites across the country. I look forward to further discussion on the Bill as it progresses.

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