Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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1233. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the amount his Department have spent on encouraging Irish construction workers to return to Ireland; if he will outline any financial incentives for those workers to return; the amount of construction workers that have returned to Ireland in the each of the past five years and if his Department has done a cost-benefit analysis on programmes seeking construction workers to return home. [23484/25]

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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I would like to thank Deputy Tóibín for his question, as well as for the opportunity to update him on the work my Department is doing in this area.

In October 2024, my Department launched the Build Back Home campaign. This was a targeted international social media campaign aimed at Irish construction workers living abroad. It was funded through the 2024 Housing for All Implementation Fund and focused particularly on key Irish diaspora communities in Australia and Canada, two countries with large populations of skilled Irish workers.

Prior to developing the campaign, my Department undertook market research with Irish construction workers in the UK, USA, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. This research explored their motivations for moving abroad and their considerations around returning home. It highlighted a cohort of 25- to 35-year-old individuals who had left Ireland in recent years but were open to returning. Many of them were aware of the significant construction opportunities at home, both in the public and private sectors, and expressed a desire to contribute to Ireland’s development.

The Build Back Home campaign aimed to accelerate their decision to return by dispelling myths about the challenges of moving home and by reassuring workers that the valuable experience they gained abroad would be recognised and appreciated.

The campaign ran for two weeks in October 2024, utilising a mix of digital channels including social media, digital audio, and digital out-of-home (OOH) advertising. Digital audio ads, which targeted Irish radio station listeners in Australia and Canada, received nearly 770,000 impressions. Social media activity that was geo-targeted to Melbourne, Sydney, and Toronto and refined to reach individuals with interests in construction and Ireland generated more than 1.8 million impressions. Digital OOH advertising featured in prominent, high-footfall locations such as Bondi Junction train station in Sydney and two large-format digital bulletins on a major highway into downtown Toronto. The campaign website also attracted over 3,000 visits.

Funding has been secured under the 2025 Housing for All Implementation Fund to run the campaign again in 2025.

In response to the Deputy’s query regarding the total amount the Department has spent on encouraging Irish construction workers to return home: the 2024 Build Back Home campaign was the principal initiative in this area, costing €170k in total.

At present, there are no direct financial incentives offered by my Department specifically for returning construction workers. Similarly, we do not hold data on the number of construction workers who have returned to Ireland in each of the past five years. Migration statistics are compiled by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), and do not disaggregate returnees by occupation.

No formal cost-benefit analysis has yet been carried out on the Build Back Home campaign or similar initiatives; however, engagement metrics indicate strong reach and interest among the target audience.

Once again, I would like to thank Deputy Tóibín for raising this important question and for his interest in the Department’s efforts to support the construction sector and encourage skilled Irish workers to return home.