Burke announces additional €5m to Construct Innovate for housing research
Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Peter Burke, TD, has announced he is making an additional allocation of €5 million in funding available to Construct Innovate, Ireland’s national research centre for construction technology and innovation.
The funding is to enable a new programme of housing-focused research at the centre under Housing for All commitments.
The research and development funding, which will be made available over a three-year period under Enterprise Ireland’s Technology Centres programme, will support a range of applied research projects to advance innovation in the residential building industry.
The minister made the announcement on a visit to a new Westmeath County Council development for Age Friendly social homes which is using timber-frame MMC technology at Ennell Court, Mullingar recently.
Minister Burke said: "The increase in funding is the result of fruitful engagement that has included the Construct Innovate consortium, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, industry, Enterprise Ireland, and my own department.
"The programme of housing research facilitated by this extra funding will have a positive impact in driving innovation, sustainable practices and efficient construction methods in residential construction. It will also help to enhance affordability and quality in delivering housing as well as increasing standardisation."
Construct Innovate is an industry-led Centre involving the academic consortium of University College Dublin, Trinity College Dublin, University College Cork, the Irish Green Building Council, and the host institution, University of Galway.
It is the newest of nine centres in Enterprise Ireland’s industry-led Technology Centre network and its vision is to make Ireland a global research and innovation leader for sustainable construction and built environment technology.
Minister Burke said: "Since its establishment, Construct Innovate has quickly asserted itself as a key partner and knowledge source for the construction industry in Ireland and beyond.
"Through collaborative research with the industry, the centre has an important role to play in ensuring Ireland can apply innovative and sustainable approaches in meeting the demands of major building and investment programmes such as Housing for All and the National Development Plan."
Construct Innovate has been steadily growing its industry membership since its establishment in late 2022 and currently more than 80 companies are members.
It recently concluded a second call for projects under its seed research initiative that will see 18 collaborative industry-academic research projects address challenges around productivity, quality, safety and sustainability, supported by over €1.1 million in funding. The centre’s Work Ready Graduate Programme has overseen 15 industry placements to date.
Today’s announcement of an additional €5m over three years underpins a commitment in Housing for All for the centre to prioritise housing-related research challenges.
The six housing-related research projects, to commence immediately, will involve close collaboration between the centre’s research teams, industry partners, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, the Irish Green Building Council and others.
The research projects will be undertaken by experienced academic experts in close collaboration with industry. The aim will be to produce independent findings that will inform both industry and policymakers. Research outcomes will be fully open source and made available by Construct Innovate to all interested parties across the industry and beyond.
Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien, TD, said: "This Construct Innovate funding signals this government’s commitment to collaborating on a long-term strategy to ensure building excellence and more efficient construction.
"In particular, the €5 million 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, Prof Jamie Goggins said the 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.