The annual Guaranteed Irish Construction Forum, sponsored by Kingspan and hosted by KPMG at Platform X, was attended by an influential group of industry leaders from the construction industry in Ireland, including Cairn Homes, Ballymore and Kilsaran. The panel explored “Incentivising Innovation in the Irish Construction Sector” covering a broad range of topics from materials and modern methods of construction (MMC) to climate goals, delivery acceleration, tenure types, financing, and land management in a bid to increase the pace of development.
Graham Doyle, Secretary General Department of Housing, Local Government & Heritage attended a breakfast meeting with key decision makers and members of Guaranteed Irish to discuss blockages and pace within the industry. Brid O’Connell, CEO of Guaranteed Irish said, “This meeting allowed key decision makers in the sector to bring pressing issues to the Secretary General, pointing out where their blockages lie.
Ultimately everyone wants to expedite the building of more housing in Ireland to assist with the current stock crisis’’. Niall O’Connor, Managing Director of Kingspan Insulation spoke on the pace and scale of regulatory change, emerging technologies and bio-based materials, and how Kingspan’s approach to innovation is driven by what problems customers are trying to solve, such as in the case of sustainability and carbon reduction, where they work with developers early in the design stage to deliver lower operational and embodied carbon in buildings.
One of the focal points of the forum was housing stock. Research presented by Joanne Geary, Managing Director of MyHome.ie, revealed that there are currently four buyers for every house listed on the platform, a striking statistic amid the nation’s housing shortage. She further highlighted that 75% of home buyers have expressed concerns over the cost of running a home, a shift in focus from last year, when rising interest rates were the top concern.
Nicholas Taaffe, Senior Development Manager at Respond Housing Association said that unlocking large land banks was key to increasing the number of homes that can be built. He delivered an address on the importance of appropriate risk transfer and accentuated the point that vacant and derelict property is a nationwide problem with approximately 100,000 units vacant or derelict. The Croi Conaithe scheme provides up to €70,000 in grants, this scheme is doing very well with over 4,000 applications. As the forum concluded, there was a shared sense of urgency and optimism regarding the potential for innovation and collaboration to resolve the housing crisis. Industry leaders reiterated the need for expanding trusted Irish based businesses and bringing them into their supply chain – which is what Guaranteed Irish House initiative solves.
As the election looms, Guaranteed Irish construction members are committed to working with the Department of Housing, Local Government & Heritage to increase pace and innovation, seeking parallel innovative thinking with the Department of Finance.
