Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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319. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if his Department will develop specific productivity metrics for the residential construction sector, including output per labour hour and output per euro of State-supported programmes such as Built to Innovate, Construct Innovate and the MMC Demonstration Park; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65725/25]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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Productivity statistics are published on an annual basis by the Central Statistics Office (CSO). Typical labour productivity statistics capture gross value added (GVA) per hour of work. The CSO does not calculate labour productivity for residential construction on its own because the data for such specific GVA and hours is lacking. The sectoral breakdown for construction, which is set down at EU level, does not differentiate between the construction of residential buildings and the construction of non-residential buildings.

The latest CSO data (September 2025) shows that labour productivity for the Construction sector was €43.5 per hour in 2024, marginally higher than €43 per hour in 2023. Looking at the sub-sectors separately, for 2024 labour productivity stood at €35.5 per hour in Construction of Buildings (down from 39.9 in 2023), €33.4 per hour in Civil Engineering (up from €28 in 2023), and €53.9 per hour in Specialised Construction Activities (up from €49.6 in 2023).

According to the CSO, in 2024, 324 million hours of work were estimated for the construction sector, an increase of 10.4% on 2019 (pre-COVID), when 293.5 million hours were worked. CSO data shows that in the recent past, peak hours worked in the construction sector were in 2007, with an estimated 466 million hours worked. This dropped to a low of 141.5 million hours in 2012. Source: www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/fp/fp-cnap/constructionanationalaccountsperspective2024/productivity/

My Department, working closely with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, 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). This is a strong focus in the new Government Housing Plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities.

MMC is an umbrella term used to capture a range of innovative construction processes like panelised housing or 3D volumetric/modular pods. More widespread adoption of MMC can help increase productivity in home building; cutting construction times and helping in the faster delivery of high-quality, sustainable, and more-affordable housing.

The recently published new housing plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities 2025-2030 contains a range of actions to increase skills and support MMC, including continued direct engagement by Enterprise Ireland (EI) with the residential construction sector under the Built to Innovate programme.

EI’s Built to Innovate package of innovation and productivity supports has, to date, supported 45 companies since its rollout in 2022 under the Housing for All plan. This includes primary structure offsite manufacturers, homebuilders and main contractors and subcontractors and design teams. To date, more than €6.5 million has been approved for investment in these firms. A key action in the new housing plan Delivering Homes, Building Communities, is to double overall investment under Enterprise Ireland’s Built to Innovate programme, to drive adoption of efficient construction practices and the use of MMC.

Construct Innovate is Ireland’s national technology centre for construction research and innovation. It was established in 2022 and is funded by my Department through EI. As with all Technology Centres, Construct Innovate reports quarterly to EI on its technical and financial performance and is measured against the set KPIs. Additionally, mid-way through the funding cycle, every Technology Centre undergoes a thorough a formal evaluation carried out by independent, international experts who assess whether the Centre is on track on delivering on the key metrics, including whether there is evidence of economic impact (EVA, jobs, turnover). Construct Innovate has just gone through such evaluation process (week starting November 10th 2025) and the outcome will be known to EI towards the end of November.

The Government is establishing a National Demonstration Park for MMC which will be located on the National Construction Training Campus at Mount Lucas, Co. Offaly. The Park will be Ireland’s flagship centre for MMC, showcasing learning and innovation to drive sustained change in housing delivery. The Demonstration Park is currently under construction, and metrics have not yet been developed. The Project is being led by the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science and delivered by Laois-Offaly ETB and Solas, with funding jointly provided by DFHERIS, my Department, and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.