Ireland’s construction sector worth €14.3bn to economy, says CSO

The size of the construction sector relative to the domestic Irish economy when measured by gross national income was 4.5% in 2024.

Ireland’s construction sector is worth more than €14bn to the national economy, according to data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

For 2024, the CSO said the gross value added (GVA) in the sector was €14.3bn, a 6% increase from 2023.

The largest subsector was electrical, plumbing, and other installation activities, accounting for 28% of the total GVA, followed by construction of residential and non-residential buildings at 27%, and building completion and finishing with 13%.

The size of the sector relative to the domestic Irish economy when measured by gross national income was 4.5% in 2024.

It ranked third-lowest in the EU, ahead of Malta and Greece, and on par with Luxembourg and Bulgaria. 

CSO statistician Aoife Crowe said employment in construction increased by 2.8% from 166,918 in 2023 to 171,676 in 2024.

“More than 6% of all people employed in Ireland worked in the construction sector in 2024, which was marginally below the EU average of 6.7%,” she said.

The employment growth was concentrated in the construction of buildings subsector, which was up by 12% in 2024.

Top occupations were electricians and electrical fitters, carpenters and joiners, and construction and building trades.

The level of investment in dwellings rose by €11bn since 2020, and accounted for 5.6% of the overall economy last year.

This was the highest level of investment since 2009.