Construction workforce must grow by over 50% to meet €57bn annual build target
PII report warns up to 110,000 additional workers needed by 2030 as retirements and housing pipeline intensify labour pressure
26 February 2026 | editor@breakingground.news
Ireland’s construction sector must expand its workforce by more than 50% within five years if it is to deliver the State’s housing, infrastructure and climate ambitions, according to a new report from Property Industry Ireland (PII).
The report, Construction Industry in Ireland – The skills and capacity required to build Ireland’s future, states that between 95,000 and 110,000 additional roles will be required by 2030, alongside the replacement of an estimated 17,000 workers expected to retire over the same period.
With employment currently standing at over 177,600 workers, this implies the sector must recruit and train between 22,800 and 25,800 additional workers per year to meet forecast demand.
€57 billion average annual output to 2030
The labour requirement is driven by a projected increase in total construction-related investment from €40.4 billion in 2024 to an annual average of €57 billion between 2025 and 2030.
The €57 billion annual figure is underpinned by:
- €129 billion in private housing development capital (excluding land) between 2025 and 2030, averaging €18.4 billion per year
- €134.2 billion in public Exchequer investment over the same period, averaging €19.2 billion annually
- €19.5 billion in domestic heat retrofit investment under climate policy
- €18.5 billion in incremental power sector investment
In total, the report estimates €400.2 billion in real terms construction-related investment between 2025 and 2030.
Structural labour gap since 2008
Construction employment peaked at 232,000 workers in 2007. The sector still has approximately 54,400 fewer workers than at that pre-crash high.
The report highlights that around 20% of the current workforce is expected to retire within the next decade. Based on today’s employment levels, that equates to approximately 3,400 workers exiting annually, or 17,000 by 2030.
At the same time, the proportion of younger workers has not recovered since the financial crash, creating what the report describes as a lost generation of skilled trades.
Labour intensity varies by sub-sector
The report also shows significant variation in labour intensity across different types of construction activity.
Historic analysis indicates the sector typically requires around eight workers per €1 million of total investment across the economy.
However, housing and retrofit activity is considerably more labour intensive than energy infrastructure. The report notes that housing maintenance can require almost 14 times more workers per €1 million than wind energy projects.
This has implications for apprenticeship numbers, visa policy and skills planning, particularly given the scale of housing and retrofit investment embedded in Government targets.
Apprenticeships rising but below requirement
The total number of apprentices in construction-related programmes increased from 14,567 in 2020 to 21,895 in 2024. Of these, 6,319 were newly registered in 2024.
However, apprentice registrations remain below the 2007 peak of 28,500.
Apprenticeship completions also lag projected need. Certificates issued rose from 1,848 in 2020 to 3,196 in 2024, well below the estimated annual requirement of over 20,000 new entrants to meet growth and replacement demand.
Gender imbalance persists in trades
Female employment in construction increased from 9,700 in Q2 2020 to 17,000 in Q3 2025. However, women remain underrepresented in on-site trades.
In 2022, female representation stood at:
- 0.3% among bricklayers and masons
- 0.3% among plasterers
- 0.5% among carpenters and joiners
- 0.7% among plumbers and heating engineers piiconstructionindustryinirelan…
Overall, women account for just 9% of the construction workforce.
MMC and digital adoption seen as capacity lever
The report identifies Modern Methods of Construction as a key productivity tool. It cites evidence that MMC projects can require 20% fewer on-site workers, with Irish analysis suggesting up to a 50% reduction in on-site labour for relevant tasks.
The Expert Group on Future Skills Needs previously estimated that greater MMC adoption could reduce the requirement for 10,000 workers while delivering the same number of homes by 2030.
Government has committed to mandating MMC use in State-backed housing projects, rising to 25% of publicly procured projects after five years.
Sector dominated by SMEs
The report also highlights the fragmented structure of the industry. In 2022, 99% of active construction enterprises employed fewer than 20 people.
This SME-dominated model presents challenges for scaling formalised training and digital transformation without stronger project pipeline certainty and procurement reform.
National imperative
PII concludes that without coordinated action across apprenticeship reform, visa expansion, procurement certainty and MMC acceleration, Ireland will struggle to meet its 2030 housing and infrastructure targets.
With €400 billion in planned investment over the next five years and the economy operating close to full employment, the report frames construction capacity not as a sectoral issue but as a national delivery risk.
