15. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the efforts he and his Department have made to encourage new technologies in the construction sector; the role he believes modular housing can play in the current crisis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35401/25]

Sentiment score: 0.06

Will the Minister outline the efforts he and his Department have made to encourage new technologies in the construction sector, and the role he believes modular housing can play?

Sentiment score: 0.69

The Minister referenced the fact that the Department has made a good deal of progress on MMC. Will he quantify that for me if he has the figures available? How many units have been built since 2023 or whatever date he referenced? I understand a target of 1,500 was mentioned, but will he quantify the number of units that have been delivered via this method? A much-maligned project took place in Mahon in Cork two years ago that turned out to be more expensive and took longer than a conventional build. It is very easy for us to react negatively to MMC and modular housing but my belief is that it has a crucial role to play in the future. A company was established in my area in recent years which deals with a specific type of modular housing, namely, the conversion of shipping containers. It is something we must consider, not perhaps as a long-term solution for housing but at least as a temporary solution.

Sentiment score: 0.25

I am someone who is about to embark on a journey with my family to build our first home. If there was a genuine modular offering for us as a family, we would look at it but, unfortunately, it is just not there for us as one-off house builders. I am lucky to be in that position. Still, there are significant barriers there. I was at a lunch today with the Estonian ambassador and she spoke to me about a conference she attended, which I believe a number of colleagues attended as well as part of a trade mission in the past few years, where there had been issues with certification. They are able to build these houses to scale in central and eastern Europe. Obviously, a house being built in Estonia will be different from one being built in Ireland. I assume climate plays a role in that. The Estonians speak about our inability to get over the bureaucracy and how we are strangled by certification. It is necessary but this is three years after she first flagged it as an issue. That is something that frustrates me. Between the Custom House and Department of public expenditure we get bogged down in bureaucracy and administration. Hopefully some day we can break free from it and get on with delivering these units.

Sentiment score: 0.02