The Irish Government has officially launched the Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) Action Plan (the Action Plan) which maps out how the Government intends to adopt and embrace the use of MMC across the construction industry. This marks a key milestone in Government’s strategy to modernise the construction sector, expand housing capacity, and create sustainable, skilled jobs.
The Action Plan is a cross-government initiative to modernise the construction sector, with a focus on innovation, efficiency, and sustainability. It arose from a report issued by the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs (EGFSN) which had been commissioned to assess the current and future skills requirements for the transition to MMC. Following the publication of the EGFSN report, the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science developed the Action Plan to target actions that can be taken to implement its recommendations. Input into the Action Plan spanned stakeholders across the construction industry, to include various Government departments, the Construction Industry Federation, the Royal Institute of Architects Ireland, technological universities and other education providers, and industry partners such as Cairn, Glenveagh and Sisk.
The Action Plan includes 58 targeted actions, under the following 8 key themes, to accelerate the adoption of offsite manufacturing, modular systems, and digital construction tools:
- Senior management training;
- Information sharing;
- New roles and labour retention;
- Use of digital and AI tools;
- Certification;
- Early learning engagement;
- Policy levers; and
- Training provision.
Watch this space for a more detailed review of the Action Plan and the recommendations which it makes. In the meantime, should you have any queries please contact Síomha Connolly, Associate, or your usual ALG Construction and Engineering contact.