A RESILIENT INDUSTRY
Our Top Companies share their views on challenges within Ireland’s construction industry and where they see growth in 2025 and beyond
The shortage of workers in Ireland’s construction sector is well documented. Towards the end of 2024, figures from IrishJobs showed that site managers were the most sought-after profession by employers, with demand growing 39% year-on-year. The research showed that project managers are also highly sought after, as are site engineers. It’s a sentiment shared by Specialist Technical Engineering Services, who says that resources continue to be a challenge.
“It’s important to demonstrate to potential candidates that a job with STS is a career. We have seen our attrition rate continue to fall as we work harder across all facets of the business on staff retention.”
Staff recruitment and retention are major obstacles to growth for many of the firms we surveyed for this Top Companies issue of Irish Construction Industry Magazine. According to Stewart Construction, access to a skilled workforce is still a significant barrier and one of the biggest challenges at the moment.
“Provision for upskilling, education and early engagement at school level is of the utmost importance in order to stimulate and grow the work force to meet future demand.”
Helping staff to develop their skills is, says Flynn, crucial when it comes to staff retention. “We take immense pride in seeing our people progress and flourish through their career with the right guidance and mentoring. It’s crucial that businesses continue to attract graduates and apprentices into the industry.”
For Dornan Engineering, the most significant challenge it’s facing is skilled labour shortages. To address this, the company has implemented several strategic initiatives. “One key approach is organising recruitment roadshows to attract new talent by showcasing the company’s projects and career opportunities. Additionally, Dornan promotes STEM careers by collaborating with schools, colleges and universities to encourage young people to consider careers in construction. This includes mentoring, STEM workshops, career talks, site visits and work experience.” Dornan is also playing its part in supporting women in construction. “Our Women@Dornan Network provides support and assistance to women pursuing careers in the industry. These efforts collectively help Dornan manage labour shortages by attracting a diverse and skilled workforce, promoting STEM careers and supporting women in construction.”
Pipelife Ireland Solutions Limited says a tight labour market is “greatly hindering its ability to fill positions created by the expansion of the business.” Additional pressures are being felt from increasing raw materials, energy and transport costs, adds the firm.
The most recent CIF Construction Outlook Survey showed that 61% of firms reported a year-on-year increase in the cost of raw materials, with 61% anticipating the trend to continue into 2025. Increasing costs continue to impact the pricing of projects, with 50% acknowledging a year-on-year increase and 45% expecting continued increases in Q1 2025. One construction firm told us electrical infrastructure and capacity, combined with wage cost inflation, will continue to pose a challenge to Ireland’s ability to be competitive. According to Stewart Construction, rising costs are still a significant challenge in the construction industry. However despite this, we expect the industry to grow steadily over the coming year and beyond.”
Challenges in the construction industry are, says Elliott Group, nothing new but they’re becoming more pronounced. “Labour shortages, skills gaps, planning delays, inflationary pressure on materials and environmental compliance are all hurdles that need to be managed with precision. For us, the focus is on maintaining the right balance which means investing in training, retaining our core people, strengthening relationships with trusted subcontractors and suppliers and futureproofing our systems through digital tools and smart procurement.” The current global geopolitical landscape, uncertainty around tariffs and tariffs being imposed on others could, said one construction firm, spell uncertainty in 2025. These issues could “impact and/or delay capital investment decisions in the sectors we serve.”
Despite the challenges, our Top Companies are positive about 2025 and beyond. Specialist Technical Engineering Services believe the construction sector in general will remain stable, with welcome continued investment by FDI companies across the country. “2025 should see a further increase in major power generation projects within the renewables sector from both public and private developers.” Housing demand will also fuel growth, says Pipelife, “especially affordable and energy-efficient homes.”
It is, says Stewart Construction, important that the construction sector as a whole prioritises innovation and digital technology for a more productive and sustainable industry. “To support our Carbon Roadmap to 2030, Stewart Construction continues to embrace sustainable construction supported by automated technologies and an increased focus on modern methods of construction.”
Dornan Engineering Limited also expects the construction industry to perform well in 2025 and beyond, driven by sustainability, digital innovation and skills development.
“The focus on sustainable practices will lead to increased use of green materials and energy-efficient technologies, reducing the environmental impact of construction projects.” Dornan has hired qualified individuals to oversee these efforts, while a comprehensive analysis of environmental impact and carbon emissions has led to the launch of a program aimed at boosting sustainability.”
The team at Flynn expects its target sectors and markets to perform robustly in the short and medium term. “However, there are some headwinds as a result in the cost of finance in some sectors. We feel that projects within critical environments will continue to support our growth ambitions.” According to Mannok, while the construction industry in Ireland is performing positively at present, with a robust underlying requirement for housing in particular, “we should not be complacent regarding the impact of external factors.”
Elliott Group remains cautiously optimistic about the outlook for the construction industry in 2025 and beyond. “Demand continues across key sectors such as residential, commercial, fit out and increasingly, data and energy infrastructure. That said, the industry is evolving – clients are more focused on sustainability, digital integration and resilience in delivery.”
When it comes to entering new sectors, Suir Engineering is expanding internationally with operations in the UK, Nordics and Germany. “Further expansion is planned in our existing sectors in other parts of Europe including Spain, Italy, Finland and Austria.” Stewart Construction intends to continue to deliver across all sectors, while connecting with its long-standing repeat business clients. “Our strategic focus is to align our brand with internationally renowned clients and ultimately, become their service provider of choice and keep providing a quality high end product that the Stewart name has become synonymous with.”
While it intends to maintain its strong presence in Ireland, the UK and Central Europe, Dornan Engineering is positioning itself for work in Southern Europe over the coming months and years. “As Dornan approaches its 60th anniversary, the partnership with Turner marks a new era of growth and expansion. Empowered by Turner’s resources and expertise, Dornan is positioned to make significant strides in emerging sectors such as electrochemicals, hydrogen and green energy. Therefore, reinforcing its position as a leader in engineering and construction excellence.”
In 2024, Elliott Group formalised its approach towards the Mission Critical and Data Infrastructure sectors with the creation of a dedicated Mission Critical division. “We’re also continuing to grow our fit out division, led by a highly skilled team delivering turnkey, design led fit out solutions under both Elliott Group and Total Fitout. This is an area of strong growth across both the Irish and UK markets.”
According to Pipelife, many customers are actively seeking a smaller number of larger ‘one-stop’ shop suppliers that have the scale, financial strength and credibility to be a long term supply partner. Developers, builders and home owners are, says the company, faced with ever increasing upfront costs in new builds as regulatory changes and the move to low temperature, low emission heating systems impact on building design and heating systems.
“In these situations, scale brings efficiencies so the greatly enhanced scale of the new Pipelife Ireland operations following the Cork Plastics acquisition will allow us to invest and provide competitively priced class leading design services and products.”
Challenges may persist, but it’s evident that our 2025 Top Companies are well-prepared for what the rest of the year and beyond may bring. Expansion into new regions, development of new innovative products and a commitment to energy efficient construction reflects the resilience of Ireland’s construction industry.
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Michael McDonnell Managing Editor of Irish Construction Industry Magazine & Plan Magazine
Email: michael@irishconstruction.com WWW.MCDMEDIA.IE