Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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116. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if any economic assessment has been undertaken by his Department regarding the economic impact of the continued housing shortage on the State’s FDI proposition; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3150/23]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Ireland has been the fastest growing economy in Europe over the past decade and recent IDA results reflect this.

Last year, Ireland continued to win significant international investment, and the short-term pipeline looks promising.

IDA Ireland reported record annual results for 2022 in December last, with a substantial increase in growth in foreign direct investment (FDI) employment on 2021. The numbers directly employed in IDA multinational clients in Ireland reach 301,475, the highest FDI employment level ever and a 9% increase on 2021. IDA client companies recorded 32,426 gross new job gains in 2022, with a 24,019 net jobs increase. IDA won 242 investments in 2022 for Ireland, 103 of which were new name investments. Importantly, 52% or 127 of the 242 investments won went to regional locations, with employment growth in every region of the country.

As Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment I am engaging with IDA on the newly launched White Paper on Enterprise and on this Government’s strategic objectives on decarbonisation, technological change and regional potential. A focus on transformation is more important than ever for companies, foreign-owned and home-grown, to remain competitive. The resilience and longevity of our multinational base in Ireland reflects their ability to constantly transform in response to change.

High housing costs, and lack of availability, are presenting a challenge to IDA client companies in attracting and retaining the talent they need to continue to grow in Ireland.

As set out in the White Paper on Enterprise that was published by my Department last year, through Project Ireland 2040 and Housing for All, the Government is committed to substantial investment to overcome constraints in areas such as transport infrastructure, energy, water, housing, and climate adaptation.

As the question relates specifically to housing, I want to touch on the ambition of Housing for All and outline some of the steps my Department (with other relevant stakeholders) is taking to promote construction sector productivity and innovation that can help accelerate housing delivery. Innovative construction processes (like offsite construction) have the potential to dramatically increase productivity and reduce cost and delivery times.

The overall objective of Housing for All is that everyone in the State should have access to a home to purchase or rent at an affordable price, built to a high standard and in the right place, offering a high quality of life. We are making progress. The supply of housing is increasing, with over 41,456 new homes built since the Plan's commencement, and targets for house building exceeded by 20% in 2022.

To help drive higher productivity, efficiency and innovation in residential construction, My Department has made available funding of €5m over 5 years, to establish 'ConstructInnovate', Ireland’s National Research and Development Hub specifically for the construction sector.

My Department has also expanded the mandate of the Enterprise Agencies to allow them to provide support to domestically focused residential construction sector firms to promote innovation; and through the NSAI, is offering additional services to help innovative building systems demonstrate their regulatory compliance.

My Department is also leading an ecosystem-wide approach to the wider adoption of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) that will work with other Government partners and the industry to focus on the regulatory, skills, business development, procurement, financial and other enablers that will need to be addressed to ensure the most advanced and compliant building processes and systems can be deployed. A key output of this work will be a roadmap with targets for compliant MMC adoption in publicly procured residential construction, along with the steps necessary to achieve this ambition.