Martin Daly (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail)
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1418. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the steps being taken to expand the skilled workforce required to meet the Government’s annual housing delivery target of 50,000 homes; and the way in which apprenticeship programmes and training pathways are being scaled to address shortages in key trades such as carpentry, plumbing, and electrical work. [48566/25]

Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
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I want to thank the Deputy for his question as it provides a welcome opportunity to detail some of the work being led by my Department to increase the pipeline of skilled workers required to deliver the Government’s housing delivery targets, particularly in relation to those key trades he mentions.

The work of my Department in this regard can be broken down into three distinct strands.

The first strand is our investment in the apprenticeship system.

My Department secured a significant investment of €77.4 million into the apprenticeship system in Budget 2025. This is the single largest investment in core apprenticeship funding since the formation of the Department in 2020, an increase of 83% since then.

Recognising the importance of incentivising employers to partake in apprenticeships, we introduced an employer grant of €2,000 per year for consortia-led apprenticeships. We also introduced a gender-based bursary of €2,666 which is available to employers who hire apprentices in apprenticeship programmes where there is greater than 80% representation of a single gender.

Registrations across the range of construction-related apprenticeships continue to be healthy. There was a 10% increase in registrations for construction apprenticeships between 2023 and 2024, while figures up to August 2025 are broadly in line with the same period last year, including for key trades like plumbing and electrical. This underpins the value of this training route at a time of near-full employment and high demand for construction skills. There are now 31 construction or construction-related apprenticeship programmes, approximately 40% of all apprenticeships.

Next year will see the launch of the Action Plan for Apprenticeship 2026-2030. A key commitment in the Programme for Government, it will have a headline target of 12,500 new apprentice registrations per year by 2030 and two-thirds of these will be in craft and construction-related programmes. Stakeholder consultations on the new Plan are to begin shortly.

The second strand focuses on advancing the use of modern methods of construction (MMC), which is a key pillar of the Government’s approach to increasing innovation and housing productivity.

It is widely acknowledged that, in order to meet Ireland’s ambitious targets for housing, climate action, and infrastructure delivery, the construction sector must adopt new technologies and processes, including off-site construction, digital tools, and innovative materials.

The 2024 report An Update to the Report on the Analysis of Skills for Residential Construction and Retrofitting estimates that 10,000 fewer new entrants will be required in the sector if there is a widespread adoption of MMC. Ireland will need almost 69,000 new entrants, compared to almost 79,000 if we continue using more traditional building methods.

To this end, my Department developed a comprehensive, cross-sector Action Plan – published in June - to support the transition to MMC. This MMC Action Plan is a direct response to the 2024 s report by the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs (EGFSN). The Action Plan outlines 58 actions structured under eight themes to address skills shortages and support the successful transition to MMC across the construction supply chain.

My Department is also working closely with sectoral partners such as SOLAS, Education and Training Boards (ETBs), the National Construction Training Campus (NCTC), and Skillnet Ireland to increase MMC skills supply across the tertiary system.

Budget 2025 provided €2.7m to help equip the workforce with new innovative construction skills. Through this allocation, SOLAS is funding a range of MMC training pathways while Skillnet Ireland have launched the Skillnet MMC Accelerate national platform. The platform highlights MMC projects and provides learners and workers with career pathways and new education and upskilling provision.

A National Demonstration Park for MMC is a key deliverable in Housing for All and is being developed at the National Construction Training Campus. This will provide an accessible flagship location for MMC demonstration and specialist training. Construction on the Park has begun, with the first units expected to be completed by the end of 2025.

The third strand relates to the promotion of careers in construction and minimising barriers to entry. Research undertaken by my Department found a lack of knowledge and understanding about the industry and the roles available, a poor perception of the working environment as well as a perception that construction is not suitable for women. In response, the Department is implementing the Careers in Construction Action Plan, which comprises 20 actions that relate to structural, promotional, and training activities to minimise barriers, promote career opportunities, and make construction jobs more attractive to women.

Several key industry and education partners are collaborating with my Department on updating the action plan, with the new plan set to be published in the coming weeks.

Among the actions are several campaign initiatives supported by the 2024 and 2025 Housing for All Implementation Fund. These include the Building Heroes peer-to-peer social media campaign, a documentary on careers in construction for second-level schools, and the Build Back Home campaign, which encouraged Irish workers to return home to take up employment in the construction industry.

I am particularly pleased to report that the Building Heroes campaign is going from strength to strength. The first phase of the 2025 campaign, with almost 100 pieces of content across social media, has exceeded targets for engagement with a 23% increase in followers across all platforms. There have been almost 8,000 engagements, an increase of 140% per post compared with 2024. Phase two of this year’s campaign will kick off soon.

My Department also works with the Department of Social Protection on the Future Building Initiative. Through the initiative Intreo, SOLAS and Education and Training Boards of Ireland have formed a dedicated cross-functional team to support recruitment and training across the construction sector. The team collaborate closely to drive progress in recruitment for training courses, apprenticeships and jobs.

Together, these three strands reflect a broad range of approaches and initiatives aimed at expanding the skilled workforce to meet the annual housing delivery targets, complimenting the vital role to be played by employers themselves in recruiting, retaining and upskilling their workforce.

I would once again like to thank the Deputy for his question and for his interest in my Department’s work in these areas.