Modern Methods of Construction

Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) describes processes for the offsite manufacturing of buildings and their components and their follow-on transport, assembly, and fabrication onsite as homes and places to live.

 

The National Economic and Social Council (NESC) Report No.166 Boosting Ireland’s Housing Supply: Modern Methods of Construction is published today. It finds that MMC represents a ‘game-changer’ to boosting Irish housing supply, increasing construction sector productivity and helping meet environmental goals.

Key findings of NESC No.166 are that:

1. MMC can boost Ireland’s new housing supply and help meet climate targets through more sustainable use and circular re-use of materials in construction;
2. Greater adoption of MMC can lead to higher productivity gains in Irish homebuilding;
3. Ireland’s MMC  industry is ready, willing, and able to increase housing supply and accelerate delivery; and,
4. Increased use of MMC in homebuilding helps meet Ireland’s environmental goal of decarbonising housing delivery.

This report identifies three developmental opportunities that can deliver positive transformation and result in a more productive, cost-effective and environmentally sustainable construction sector in Ireland:

1. Expand the use of MMC by established Irish homebuilders to capture its productivity and environmental benefits, especially for timber-based MMC.
2. Increase inward investment by international MMC companies.
3. Grow Irish MMC businesses to supply both domestic and export markets

 

The National Economic and Social Council (NESC) identifies six lines of action to encourage greater adoption and use of MMC in housing among producers and to promote acceptance among users:

• Institutional leadership: Working through more resourced existing structures, develop new MMC initiatives to address impediments to greater adoption in housing supply and renovation; reinforce and strengthen increased supply pipelines of sufficient scale, particularly social and affordable housing; and enable greater State and market collaboration on critical development issues such as standards, housing typology, finance, transport and logistics, and skills and education.
• Standards and innovation: Use the Government’s Capital Works Management Framework and procurement process to shape greater housing market adoption of MMC; and research the potential role of a collaborative approach between industry and research bodies for testing and performance requirements for innovative systems.
• Targets: Increase the targets and funding for new public housing using MMC under an expanded Social Housing Accelerated Delivery Programme (ADP);binding targets around reduced carbon footprints; and assess the investment and development of the human resources required to meet revised targets among public housing delivery partners. 1 set more
• Innovative finance: Consider the creation of a dedicated forward-funding arrangement for MMC in housing to lever increased investment in offsite manufacturing (OSM); guide environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investment towards MMC in housing using fiscal instruments and mechanisms; and expand the role of Ireland’s credit union sector to deliver a dedicated aggregator structure to pool financing from Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) for new MMC housing developments.
• New employment opportunities: Provide additional supports and incentives to facilitate further upskilling for MMC roles; increase co-ordination and additional resourcing of organisations’ training programmes; and develop and fund more dedicated apprenticeship and internship options for MMC in housing.
• Positive promotion: Showcase examples of quality MMC housing typologies, particularly mid- and high-rise apartments with efficient circulation including deck-access; deliver new promotional materials to challenge stigmas attributed to prefabrication; make clear that temporary use does not mean poor quality; and, request study and report by Dublin City Council on recent ‘volumetric’ housing schemes in Dublin 8 and 20, where the reception to them is considered to be positive.