Questions

304. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the number of persons employed in Ireland in high tech construction; the way in which that sector is defined; and the contribution that this sector makes to the Irish economy. [51183/26]

203. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment given that a greater proportion of data jobs related to data centres are related to construction (9,356 construction jobs compared to 7,636 additional operational jobs from 2010 to 2024), if the demand for construction roles related to data centres is being considered in the context of constructions skills needed for other infrastr…

281. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment whether he has considered introducing a legal requirement for contractors, including those carrying out retrofit and residential construction works, to hold insurance or financial safeguards to protect upfront payments made by homeowners in the event of insolvency or non-completion of works; the current consumer protections in place …

442. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment whether his Department has formally requested the Central Statistics Office, since 2022, to develop a residential construction productivity framework or satellite account capable of producing residential-specific productivity indicators, including gross value added and hours worked; if so, the date of each such request; and if not, the …

443. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment whether any Inter-Departmental Group, Steering Committee, or formal governance structure has been established since 2022 to oversee the development of residential construction productivity metrics, including modern methods of construction output; the Departments and agencies represented; the chairing authority; and the outputs or decisi…

444. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment whether a decision has been taken by his Department not to seek, request, or support a Eurostat derogation or alternative statistical approval to enable the publication of residential-specific construction productivity data; if such a decision has been taken, the date and rationale for that decision; and if no decision has been taken, w…

446. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment whether an independent external evaluation framework has been established to assess the value for money and productivity impact of the Built to Innovate initiative administered by Enterprise Ireland; whether any external evaluator has been appointed or procured to date; if not, whether the Minister intends to commission an independent e…

447. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment whether his Department or Enterprise Ireland has established metrics to assess whether the Built to Innovate initiative has delivered demonstrable productivity gains at sector level within the residential construction industry, including impacts on housing output, build times, or unit delivery costs beyond firm-level performance indicat…

448. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment whether any further expansion or additional funding allocations under the Built to Innovate initiative will be made prior to the completion of an independent external evaluation of the programme; whether consideration has been given to making future funding contingent on demonstrated sector-level productivity or housing delivery outcome…

462. Deputy Sinéad Gibney asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the steps his Department has taken to assess and address the impact of the recent decision in the High Court (details supplied) which will impact the governing of construction contract payments under the Construction Contracts Act 2013; if he will ensure that companies are not at risk of payment requests being wrongfully ignored witho…

265. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the specific productivity indicators his Department uses to evaluate the impact of State-funded innovation schemes in the residential construction sector, including Built to Innovate and Construct Innovate, and to confirm whether metrics such as output per labour hour, output per euro of State support, and time-to-completion benchmarks …

266. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the methodology used by his Department to assess value-for-money in the allocation of more than €6.5 million under the Built to Innovate programme for residential construction productivity, including the performance criteria applied to participating firms and the evidence of productivity gains recorded to date. [68901/25]

267. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the findings of the recent mid-cycle international evaluation of Construct Innovate carried out in November 2025, including the assessment of its productivity-related KPIs, its impact on residential construction delivery, and any recommendations for corrective actions. [68902/25]

319. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism 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]

323. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment if his Department will commission, in partnership with Enterprise Ireland and the Local Enterprise Offices, a survey of construction SMEs in Cork city and county to identify barriers to starter-home delivery including material costs, labour shortages, access to finance and regulatory burdens; and if he will make a statement on the matte…

324. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment if his Department will publish regional breakdowns of construction SME challenges, including specific data for Cork city and county, as part of its annual reporting from 2026 onwards; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65732/25]

394. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the residential construction productivity levels recorded in 2023 and 2024; how these compare to EU averages; and the measures planned to increase productivity to meet the housing targets. [63924/25]

508. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if his Department is aware that asbestos sheets had been used for the construction of the (details supplied), and if the Department will have these sheets removed in a safe manner. [10743/25]

251. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment given the current housing crisis, if he has any plans to bring in qualified non-EU workers in the construction industry, such as plumbers, electricians, bricklayers and so on; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10304/25]