Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minster. This is the way forward in procurement but I will quote David Browne, a member of the RIAI, last month when the organisation was before the Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage:

Modern methods of construction, if adopted at scale in Ireland, can have an important role to play in meeting the targets of the National Development Plan by helping to address current significant productivity, labour and skills challenges. It is important to understand that the application of modern methods in both public and private sectors in Ireland cannot be achieved by the construction sector acting alone.

Procurement is highlighted as one of the key areas of reform. The Minister is saying that this is planned. It is hugely important. The most powerful tool available to him to promote the use of MMC is the leverage procurement.

The State is the biggest spender in the economy. Public procurement amounts to approximately €20 billion per year. Will the Minister commit to using public procurement to facilitate the adoption of modern methods of construction? That would give us the scale.

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