Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 29 January 2019
186. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his assessment of the impact of construction inflation on the costs outlined when announcing the allocation to Departments under the National Development Plan 2018-2027; if no such assessment has been completed, when such an assessment will be completed and published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3946/19]
View answerInflation is a common occurrence across most sectors of an economy, including the construction sector. However, given the scale of the necessary increase in public capital investment, against the backdrop of continuing strong private sector investment, the mid-term review of the 2016-2021 Capital Plan published by DPER in September 2017 noted the potential for capacity pressures in the construction sector and the need for a strategic focus on addressing these.
As announced in the NDP in February 2018, a Construction Sector Group has been established to ensure regular and open dialogue between Government and the construction sector. The CSG is made up of each of the key segments of the industry along with officials from relevant Departments and Agencies. The CSG's remit includes the consideration of opportunities to introduce reforms within the sector that will help in controlling price inflation, improving efficiency and delivering value for money investment.
In particular, there will be strong focus on developing initiatives to drive productivity growth in the construction sector. This will help ensure a higher level of output for a given level of resources and can assist in tempering the impact of inflation caused by capacity constraints.
My Department is preparing a report on the performance and prospects of the Irish construction sector based on the available data. That report, which I anticipate will be published in the coming weeks, will further aid in the monitoring of trends across the sector, ranging from output and investment to employment and cost inflation, so that risks and performance issues can be identified and addressed where necessary.
