Martin points to Cork housing innovation at visit to Ballyvolane develpoment 

Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said a Cork housing development offers a clear roadmap for the future of housing in Ireland.

Mr Martin was speaking after a visit to the Longview housing development in Ballyvolane, to see how modern methods of construction, supported by Enterprise Ireland’s Built to Innovate funding, have accelerated the building of homes there.

According to its developers, when completed, Longview will be a thriving community providing more than 700 high-quality homes, along with access to schools, shops, and sports facilities.

Enterprise Ireland’s Built to Innovate initiative, launched under Housing for All, supports the residential construction sector and offsite manufacturers to adopt modern methods of construction, improve productivity and innovate.

Since its launch, 45 companies have benefited from it, with more than €6.5m being approved for investment in these firms.

Mr Martin said the use of modern methods of construction had the potential to be a game changer in the delivery of housing and infrastructure, adding that Government was committed to encouraging and supporting its uptake, increasing its prominence, and making it a mainstay of Irish construction.

“This is the future, in terms of getting us to the 50,000 per annum figure [of new homes] that we need to get to,” Mr Martin said.

“I’m very heartened by the pace and volume of construction here, it’s a lot of people working together, all the sub-contractors meet, and they’ve brought the technology of the manufacturing sector to the construction sector, and that is working very well.”

The Taoiseach said Government wanted to see this work replicated across the construction sector.

“It’s a new area of activity for Enterprise Ireland as well, in terms of moving into the construction sector, so, it’s very, very positive,” he said.

Longview Estates Ltd was granted planning permission in 2020 for 753 houses and apartments in the townland of Lahardane, Ballyvolane, about 3km north-east of Cork city centre.