Written answers

Wednesday, 22 June 2022

Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government

Labour Market

Photo of Francis Noel DuffyFrancis Noel Duffy (Dublin South West, Green Party)
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47. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the way that his Department intends to increase the labour demand by 27,500 by 2025 as per the Expert Group on Future Skills Need 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33047/22]

Photo of Darragh O'BrienDarragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Central to delivering on the ambition of Housing for All: A New Housing Plan for Ireland is the need for additional construction sector workers. The number of construction workers involved in residential construction will need to rise to 67,500 by the middle of the decade to achieve an annual average delivery of 33,000 homes.

This will be achieved through a variety of means, including up-to-date forecast of labour demand and supply for the construction sector, and implementing measures necessary to fast-track sufficient numbers into the residential construction workforce. This includes, but is not limited to an integrated education, training and activation response, including delivery of new courses and apprenticeships, working with industry stakeholders, through the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform-led Construction Sector Group, to review and promote the attractiveness of careers in the construction sector, recourse to international labour markets where supply is unavailable locally, including facilitating recruitment from abroad and changes to employment permit schemes where necessary, and encouraging participation in the Irish market by international construction firms and builders. 

As a whole of Government approach has been adopted to the delivery of Housing for All, primary responsibility for the above measures falls to my colleagues, the Ministers for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, and Enterprise, Trade and Employment, respectively. Delivery of these measures is being monitored on an ongoing basis by the Housing for All Industry Capability Workstream.

It should be noted that Housing for All progress reports are published on a quarterly basis. The fourth of these reports, covering progress in Q2 2022 is due for publication in July. These reports can be accessed on www.gov.ie/en/collection/9d2ee-housing-for-all-quarterly-progress-reports/.

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