Construction BUSINESS

In response to Budget 2024 Hubert Fitzpatrick, Director General of the Constriction Industry Federation, said: “We welcome the increased provisions for capital spending in Budget ’24 and we also welcome the Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund as a positive and prudent step in providing counter-cyclical investment to ensure that vital capital infrastructure projects can continue in the event of a financial downturn.

“These measures will provide confidence and certainty for the construction industry in growing their capacity to deliver and invest in capital projects, by providing a visible pipeline of work. We welcome the allocation of €250 million to increase the capability of state bodies to deliver on this initiative and accelerate capital projects.

“€67 million has been committed to support 16,000 craft apprenticeships to acknowledge the challenge in attracting future talent into construction. We look forward to examining the details of this measure.

“In housing, we welcome to extension of the Help to Buy Scheme, which will continue to support new home buyers to purchase their first home.

“One of the biggest challenges to delivering on infrastructure and housing is the current under-investment in the planning system. Resourcing the procurement authorities and planning system will be crucial to enabling the delivery of infrastructure and housing developments now and in the future, to meet the needs of the growing population.”