The construction industry has not reached its capacity and is still capable of meeting the Government's target of 50,000 new homes this year, the Minister of State for the Environment and Local Government, Mr Robert Molloy, said yesterday.
The Minister rejected suggestions in a Government-commissioned report that the industry may have problems building 500,000 homes over the next decade.
By taking advantage of new local authority multi-annual budgeting, using new construction techniques and better site organisation, it was still feasible to increase capacity, he said.
The use of multi-annual budgeting in the construction of local authority housing meant an end to the stop-go method and enabled builders to plan up to four years in advance, Mr Molloy said.
"By knowing how many house starts they will get funding for they can develop efficiency and increase output," he said.
Greater use of factory-construction methods would also increase the number of houses which could be finished this year, he added.
The Planning and Development Bill, to be published tomorrow, would help remove blockages in the planning system which were contributing to the delay in house building, he said. There was a reluctance to zone land seven or eight years ahead and there were delays in the planning process as a result of a lengthy appeal process. Such issues would be tackled by the Government this week.
"We are busy dealing with the blockages in the system," Mr Molloy said. "All the major applications where there was a need for housing and a need for zoned land have been approved."
Developments had also been allowed to use temporary sewage treatment facilities in advance of permanent facilities being developed, he said.
The Minister said he was concerned about the findings of the report drawn up by his Department and DKM economic consultants.
The amount of work which construction firms had on their books was evident from the fact that fewer companies were applying for public tenders, he noted. "This is quite worrying," Mr Molloy said.