In April, an impressive tally of 18,000 housing starts were documented, a significant surge compared to the usual frequency. What triggered this sudden increase? And do we possess adequate manpower in the construction industry to construct these dwellings, attaining the ambitious goal of 50,000 new homes annually that we’re led to believe is necessary to fulfill demand?
In this week’s instalment of Inside Business, Ciarán Hancock, the host, converses with Hubert Fitzpatrick, the Director General of the Construction Industry Federation, over the telephone to explore these matters.
Additionally, this week Intel’s massive manufacturing site in Leixlip, Co Kildare was in the international spotlight due to a €11 billion refinancing and the potential of future investments including a novel plant. Our in-house guest, Fianna Fail’s local TD James Lawless, joined us to discuss the finer points in more detail.
John Casey produced this episode with JJ Vernon in charge of the sound.