Next week, hundreds of construction companies and experts will travel to Dublin for the annual National Construction Summit at the Sport Ireland Campus, Blanchardstown.

Taking place on Thursday April 18, the event incorporates a comprehensive programme including a wide array of seminars and free workshops, the National Construction Summit, organised by Premier Publishing & Events, will also feature an extensive exhibition area, showcasing the latest products, services and technology for the construction, engineering, sustainable building, maintenance and architectural sectors.

Key Conference themes at the 2024 National Construction Summit include: Jobs, Skills, Training and Education; Infrastructural Investment; Public & Private Housing; Finance; Building Materials & Services Innovation; Foreign Direct Investment (FDI); Project Ireland 2040, the Housing For All Plan; Smart Design for Off-site Construction; Construction 4.0; Green Technology; and Sustainability.

Speakers at the conference will touch on a variety of subjects including discussing the fact that construction output in Ireland is forecast to grow by 3.2% in 2023 and 4.4% in 2024, according to Euroconstruct, an independent construction market forecasting network active in 19 European countries. Which is in contrast to output declines in construction across Europe.

Attendees will also hear about the Government’s housing policy for housing for all all to 2030. A multi-annual, multi-billion euro plan, it is designed to improve Ireland’s housing system and deliver more homes of all types for people with different housing needs. It has a built-in annual review mechanism to respond to progress made in implementing the plan, to challenges in implementation, and to changes in the external environment.

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The conference will discuss the fact that housing supply has been increasing, and the continuing increase in house prices and rents indicate that demand for housing is still growing at a faster pace than supply.

The conference will also touch on the challenges being faced by the sector discussing how the construction sector is a vital component of the Irish economy providing the necessary infrastructure required to sustain Ireland’s economic growth and competitiveness and to attract foreign direct investment (FDI). According to a recent EY Economic Advisory report, the value of Irish construction output is projected to reach €35.2 billion in 2024.

Although the Irish construction industry is undergoing a steady recovery following subdued activity in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it faces significant challenges, such as rising materials costs, skills shortages and difficulties in planning and public sector procurement.

Innovation will also play a central role in the event with many speakers discussing the fact that in order to design and construct the sustainable buildings and infrastructure required by a growing population and to help businesses adapt to the challenges of the unfolding fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0), the construction industry throughout Ireland needs to rapidly adopt innovative technologies and techniques. However, there is concern that the industry is not evolving fast enough to meet these changing needs.

The National Construction Summit will host over 100 speakers across seven stages. Included in the day will be a series of panels on topics ranging from “Building a Resilient Workforce: Attracting and Retaining Skilled Construction Talent”, “Voices of the Irelands MMC Sector: Priorities and Perspectives for a Sustainable Future”, “How PPPs can help meet Ireland’s infrastructure challenges”, and “Is Ireland Destined to Become a Secondary Data Hosting Location?”

Agendas for the event are now live at nationalconstructionsummit.ie/agenda/ and details on all speakers are available at nationalconstructionsummit.ie/speakers/

The National Construction Summit also includes a number of co-located events which include:

•Project Controls Event

•The Architecture, Design and Planning Expo

•BIM & Digital Construction Show

•The Data Centre and Critical Infrastructure Expo

•Fit-out & Interior Live

•Health & Safety

•Lean Construction Show

•Modern Methods of Construction

•Modular & Offsite Construction Show

•The Engineering Summit

•The National Facility Management and Maintenance Show

•Passive Construction & NZEB

•Smart & Green Building Expo

Registration is free at nationalconstructionsummit.ie/