Aidan Farrelly (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
Link to this: Individually | In context

531. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will provide an update on his plans to set up a MMC Innovation Fund, via the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, to directly fund new housing factories, and the expansion of existing factories. [23768/25]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The setting up of a MMC Innovation Fund, via the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, to directly fund new housing factories, and the expansion of existing factories is a commitment in the Programme for Government. My Department, as part of its continuing involvement in promoting construction innovation and driving increased productivity in the homebuilding sector, will work with our partners across Government, on emerging proposals in relation to this commitment in the context of the forthcoming new housing strategy.

The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, working closely with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (DHLGH), and other relevant stakeholders, is progressing work to increase innovation and delivery capacity in the residential construction sector through promoting the adoption of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC), compliant with the Irish building regulations.

In 2023, DETE in collaboration with DHLGH, published the “Roadmap for the increased adoption of MMC in public housing delivery” a priority deliverable under Housing for All. The Roadmap set out the 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 MMC Roadmap set in train a live agenda for MMC development in Ireland.

To promote research and development and disseminate the best and most relevant innovations to the players in the construction value-chain in Ireland, DETE with Enterprise Ireland established Construct Innovate, a new industry led national construction Technology Centre, with initial funding of €5m over 5 years. The Centre is a consortium hosted by University of Galway which also includes Trinity College Dublin, University College Dublin, University College Cork and the Irish Green Building Council. Last year, I announced a further €5 million in core funding to the Centre to support a significant programme of housing related research. In addition, construction companies who wish to collaborate with the Centre can avail of Enterprise Ireland innovation vouchers and innovation partnerships to support their research and development agendas.

Enterprise Ireland, through the Built to Innovate programme, offers a range of financial supports for the domestic residential construction sector. The tailored package of supports offers various grant aid packages across: Lean construction methods, Digital transformation, and Research and Innovation.

Finally, my Department is working on proposals to give effect to recommendations published last year to improve the financing landscape for Irish companies with ambitions to scale up. One of those recommendations is to directly add supply of capital to the market with State backed scaling funds.