Builders to spend €32bn this year

Builders will spend €32 billion in the Republic this year as the industry picks up following two years where Government pandemic restrictions hindered activity, a new report shows.

The Build 2022 Report, produced by the Construction Sector Group, set up to ensure communication between the industry and Government, says that the sector’s output fell 16 per cent between 2019 and 2021.

“In 2022, approximate investment in building and construction is forecast to be €32 billion,” the report states. It adds that spending on building should increase up to 2025.

Last year, planners granted permission for 42,991 new homes around the Republic. The report notes that 60 per cent of them were apartments.

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In the first quarter of this year, about four out of every five new homes built in the State were in urban areas.

Government’s Housing for All plan aims to have to 33,000 new homes built in the Republic every year until 2030.

However, the report notes that new home building actually fell 3 per cent between 2019 and 2021.

Publishing the report, Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Michael McGrath noted that builders faced considerable cost increases, partly as a consequence of the war in Ukraine. These challenges will persist through 2022, he added.