10th September 2024
Centre to commence housing research supporting Housing for All
Professor Jamie Goggins, University of Galway and Director, Construct Innovate, Mr Neil Kerrigan, Department Manager, Technology, Infrastructure & Collaboration, Enterprise Ireland, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Peter Burke, Mr Seán Armstrong, Principal Officer, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Mr Colm McHugh, Centre Manager, Construct Innovate. Picture Credit: Damien Eagers
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.
Commenting on the funding, Minister Burke said:
“I am very pleased to be able to make this additional €5 million in funding available to Construct Innovate so that it can fulfil its mandate to address key research challenges in the area of housing.
“The increase in funding is the result of very 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 the centre’s vision is to make Ireland a global research and innovation leader for sustainable construction and built environment technology.
Minister Burke added:
“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 a very 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 with currently over 80 companies as members, and 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 €5 million 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 highly 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.
Welcoming the announcement, Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Daragh O’Brien TD said:
‘’This Construct Innovate funding will further realise the aims of Housing for All by prioritising research, which is embracing innovative techniques, streamlining construction processes and accelerating the supply of housing. It also signals this Government’s commitment to collaborating on a long-term strategy to ensure building excellence and more efficient construction.
‘’In particular, this €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 also commented:
“These 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. They are being led by excellent principal investigators in Construct Innovate partner institutions of University of Galway, University College Dublin, Trinity College Dublin and Irish Green Building Council, utilising world-class research facilities and expertise available in our third level institutions in Ireland. The projects will be delivered in close collaboration with Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, industry, and other key stakeholders in the construction and built environment sector.”
Neil Kerrigan, Department Manager, Technology, Infrastructure & Collaboration, Enterprise Ireland said:
“The Construct Innovate centre is one of nine established under Enterprise Ireland’s industry led Technology Centres Programme, which underpins Ireland’s research, development and innovation capabilities, all of which are key components of thriving businesses and are essential to maintaining a competitive edge in the market. The additional funding allocated to the Construct Innovate Centre will help accelerate innovation right across the value chain and increase the productivity, sustainability and export potential of Irish construction companies, while helping to reduce costs and build times for Ireland’s housing and infrastructural needs.”
Notes to editors
The housing research projects which will be undertaken by Construct Innovate are as follows:
- Creation of standardised design details for Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) builds open access to test data (structure, fire, energy and sound).
- Durability of dense aggregate concrete masonry units in Irish structures – assessment of future anticipated performance – quality and safety.
- Ageing population and universal access – building regulations compliance assessment of universal design homes.
- Research into the reuse of existing buildings (including traditional buildings).
- An investigation of the effectiveness of Technical Guidance Document J (TGD J) provisions regarding flue outlet locations for solid fuel burning appliances at preventing smoke particles entering the dwelling or neighbouring dwellings.
- A study to evaluate alternative methods of remediation of buildings damaged by defective concrete blocks.
To find out more about these and other research projects being undertaken by Construct Innovate, visit Construct Innovate – Ireland’s National Centre for Construction Innovation.
About Construct Innovate
Construct Innovate is Ireland’s national research centre for construction technology and innovation. Construct Innovate is part of Enterprise Ireland’s industry-led Technology Centre programme which aims to provide independent and evidence-based research through collaboration between industry members and research performing organisations. Construct Innovate’s brief focuses on devising solutions for key challenges faced by the construction and built environment industry, particularly in the residential sector.
Construct Innovate strives to support and run research initiatives to meet the demands of Ireland’s major building and investment programmes, such as Project Ireland 2040, National Development Plan 2021-2030, Housing for All, and the Climate Action Plan 2023.
The Centre was launched in December 2022 with an initial allocation of €5 million in core funding over five years from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment through Enterprise Ireland. A further €2 million has been secured by the centre under Enterprise Ireland’s equipment call, to acquire testing equipment for construction products.
The centre encourages industry engagement through a membership model which has grown to over 80 members to date. It runs a regular webinar series and in-person ‘academic-industry meeting’ (AIM) days to identify key industry research challenges and partners. The centre's Work Ready Graduate Programme has overseen 15 industry placements to date and two seed funding calls have been concluded by the centre that will see 36 collaborative projects receive up to €50,000 each in research funding.
To find out more about the Construct Innovate Technology Centre visit Construct Innovate – Ireland’s National Centre for Construction Innovation.
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