Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said building sites can continue to operate in Ireland despite calls for them to be shut to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

Unite trade union demands that all work should stop.

Housebuilders in Ireland are embarking on a series of roadshows to lobby newly-elected TDs on what they say are the barriers to housing construction.

Significant investment in infrastructure is needed if Cork is to act as a true counterbalance to Dublin, the Construction Industry Federation has said.

Business groups have urged the next government — in whatever form it takes — to translate only their “business-friendly” election promises into action.

A minister for City Regions is required by the incoming Government to drive a progressive urban agenda the Cork Chamber has said in their election manifesto.

The estimated 2027 completion date for the M28 motorway to port facilities in Ringaskiddy is unacceptable, the Construction Industry Federation has said.

The Central Bank has said it will not change the rules on mortgage lending in the next 12 months.

Further office development is to take place on the last remaining commercial site in Eastgate in Cork’s Little Island.

Construction worker fatalities have decreased by almost 50% since 2015, and the industry has also seen a reduction in the number of non-fatal accidents over the same time frame.

A RECENT crane count conducted by the Construction Industry Federation showed that Cork had 12 cranes compared to Dublin’s 123. That may seem to be a crude measure of economic activity, yet it demonstrates the regional divide.

The economic development of the southern region - taking in Cork, Limerick and Waterford - is in danger of being suffocated by a lack of investment in vital infrastructure projects, the country's main building representative group has warned.

Construction industry experts have slammed the poor delivery of major public infrastructure in the southern region.

A developer is calling for the minimum size of co-living bedrooms at a new Dublin property to be reduced from 12 square metres to just over six.

The Government has been accused of failing to deliver key infrastructure projects to the south of the country as the long-awaited €100m upgrade of the Dunkettle interchange has been stalled again due to spiralling costs.

Key figures in Cork’s business and hospitality sectors have asked to meet developers, BAM, to seek reassurances about the stalled event centre project.

We may not have full control over our economy after Brexit, but there is nothing to stop national investment outside of Dublin, except bureaucracy and Government obfuscation.

The Construction Industry Federation (CIF) has warned that delays in infrastructure projects in the south of the country will have repercussions for Ireland's economy.

Representatives of the construction industry have written to all Cork TDs and Senators to warn about ongoing frustrations about the lack of progress on major infrastructure projects in the region.

Construction accidents are declining despite a huge increase in activity, it has emerged.

The Health and Safety Authority says there were 166, including two deaths, in the first six months of 2019.

The construction industry has called on the State’s environmental watchdog to reclassify for recycling and reuse the same kind of demolition rubble which is at the centre of enforcement action on a strategic site in Cork city.

Social Democrats co-leader Roisin Shortall has said that she believes the cost of building the National Children's Hospital will eventually reach €2bn.

This was an increase of 25% on the previous year, according to Construction magazine’s annual Top 50 CIF Contractors listing for 2019.

10,600 people joined the Irish construction workforce last year, up 8% year on year.

The primary reason for those working in the construction industry returning from abroad is down to family, an industry survey has found.

A skills shortage in all areas of construction has worsened in recent months, with a lack of carpenters and plumbers leading to a squeeze on project delivery, a new report has found.

The efficient use of energy is one of the core tenets of sustainability as a way of life, and in a recent column I highlighted the Home Renovation Incentive (HRI) grants available from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI).

Dozens of key construction jobs are currently ineligible to non-nationals — despite thousands being needed to meet building demands.

Inspectors from the workplace health and safety watchdog will this week visit construction sites across the country as part of a crackdown on exposure to dangerous, cancer-causing chemicals.

Gender equality is an issue across the entire workplace, and nowhere more so than within the building industry.

The Construction Industry Federation wants to change the perception that the sector is for men.

The housing minister has ruled out introducing a scheme similar to a package offered to nurses to lure back construction workers who emigrated during the recession.