James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)

I thank Deputy O'Meara for raising the important question around the expansion of the provision of modular housing. I thank the Deputy for his ongoing work and engagement in this important area of housing delivery. My Department, working closely with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and other relevant stakeholders, is progressing work to increase delivery capacity in the residential construction sector through promoting the adoption of modern methods of construction, MMC. MMC is a collective term which describes innovative construction alternatives to traditional construction, which includes modular housing.

In 2023, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, in collaboration with my Department, published the roadmap for the increased adoption of MMC in public housing delivery which was a priority deliverable under Housing for All. The roadmap set out a series of initiatives and policy interventions needed to advance the use of compliant MMC in public housing delivery and remove barriers to adoption. The publication of the modern methods of construction roadmap set in train a live agenda for modern methods of construction development in Ireland.

Under Housing for All, a range of initiatives have already been put in place to support modern methods of construction. These include the accelerated delivery programme to deliver over 1,500 modern methods of construction dwellings through local authorities, led by my Department. In addition and building on this experience, Wexford County Council is currently tendering a 3D pilot project of 22 social housing units utilising off-site three dimensional construction methods which are essentially what are referred to as modular units.

The recent programme for Government contains a further range of initiatives to support MMC, including modular housing. These initiatives include a modern methods of construction innovation fund to directly fund new and existing factories; targets for modern methods of construction use in at least 25% of all State-backed housing; resourcing the National Standards Authority of Ireland to ensure regulatory certificates are issued in a timely manner; and increasing training programmes in modern methods of construction.

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