Minister Burke has announced an additional €5m of funding for Construct Innovate and housing research in the face of the housing crisis
Ireland’s Construct Innovate is to receive an additional €5m of funding for housing research.
Construct Innovate is Ireland’s national research centre for construction technology and innovation, and the funding will specifically go into Housing for All commitments.
Ireland is in a housing crisis
At the start of 2023, Ireland hit a record high of 11,754 people living in emergency accommodation — reflective of the issues with available housing and social housing, pricing for both private and rental sectors, and suboptimal housing.
In July of 2024, that number has fallen to 10,028, still a high number, having dropped by just 1,726 in 17 months.
To combat these issues, in 2021 Ireland introduced the Housing for All plan, a plan up to 2030 to construct 33,000 new homes every year. This target has not been hit yet, but is on track to be hit in 2024. As of July, construction starts of homes hit 35,358.
The Construct Innovate funding will help to tackle these issues
The pledge of €5m to Construct Innovate and their Housing for All commitments is a sign of increasing focus on the housing issue.
The funding will stretch over three years, and will cover six research projects between academics and industry to produce open source, informative conclusions for both industry and policymakers to draw from.
Minister for housing, local government and heritage, Daragh O’Brien TD, said: “This Construct Innovate funding will further realise the aims of Housing for All by prioritising research, which is embracing innovative techniques, streamlining construction processes and accelerating the supply of housing. It also signals this Government’s commitment to collaborating on a long-term strategy to ensure building excellence and more efficient construction.
“In particular, this €5m funding for applied research seeks to respond to the construction sector and industry needs by finding cutting edge innovative solutions for real world building challenges to ultimately unlock high quality, faster and cost-effective supply of homes for people to live in.’’
Director of Construct Innovate, Professor Jamie Goggins, said: “These collaborative research projects will address near and long-term challenges for the housing sector, including the current shortage of housing, quality issues with some of the existing housing stock, ensuring our homes are accessible for our ageing population allowing them to live in their homes for longer, and the impact of climate change on our homes.
“They are being lead by excellent principal investigators in Construct Innovate partner institutions of University of Galway, University College Dublin, Trinity College Dublin and Irish Green Building Council, utilising world-class research facilities and expertise available in our third level institutions in Ireland. The projects will be delivered in close collaboration with Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, industry, and other key stakeholders in the construction and built environment sector.”
