“Modern methods of construction (MMC) a ‘game-changer’ to boosting Irish housing supply and helping meet environmental goals.”
- Greater adoption of MMC can lead to higher productivity gains in Irish homebuilding;
- Ireland’s MMC industry is ready, willing and able to increase housing supply and accelerate delivery; and,
- Increased use of MMC in homebuilding helps meet Ireland’s environmental goal of decarbonising housing delivery.
Dublin, 19th September 2024: The Government has welcomed the National Economic and Social Council (NESC) report ‘Boosting Ireland’s Housing Supply: Modern Methods of Construction’. MMC is the offsite manufacturing of buildings and their components and their follow-on transport, assembly and fabrication onsite as homes and places to live. The report finds that MMC can boost Ireland’s new housing supply and help meet climate targets through more sustainable use and circular re-use of materials in construction.
The report finds that there is scope to use the Government’s Capital Works Management Framework and procurement process to drive greater housing market adoption of MMC. The report argues for an increase in the targets and funding for new public housing using MMC under an expanded Social Housing Accelerated Delivery Programme (ADP).
The report also examines finance and recommends the creation of a dedicated forward-funding arrangement for MMC in housing that would lever increased investment in offsite manufacturing for MMC in housing. Tilting environmental, social and governance (ESG) investment towards MMC in housing is recommended alongside expanding the role of Ireland’s credit union sector to deliver a dedicated financial mechanism to pool financing from Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) for new MMC housing developments. In addition, the report argues for more funding for dedicated apprenticeship and internship options for MMC to facilitate further upskilling for MMC roles.
Speaking on the report, Dr Dáithí Downey, Policy Analyst at NESC said that “Ireland can produce many new social and affordable homes using MMC that meet the diverse needs of all generations and create communities that are great places to live.” He argued that “we must invest more to boost new public housing using MMC,” and noted how “this investment will address the supply deficit and meet our housing needs, help grow our industrial and manufacturing sector in MMC for housing and underpin efforts to meet the goal of decarbonising our housing system.”
This report can be read in full here.
Acknowledgements
NESC is grateful for the support and goodwill of a number of leading construction sector representatives in Ireland, particularly industry members of MMC Ireland who participated in research interviews and policy roundtables to produce evidence relied upon in this report. NESC is also grateful to the local authorities, statutory agencies, advisory bodies, NGOs, Approved Housing Bodies and consultancies in Ireland, the UK and Austria who provided expert opinion and insights that helped inform this work. Contributions from Council members, including those from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, were important in the finalisation of the report.