From the editor

In March of this year, European Union (EU) politicians voted in favour of sweeping new policies for buildings to improve energy efficiency and reduce emissions.

Since 2002, the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) has been the EU’s main legislative instrument used to improve the energy performance of buildings within the EU. The EPBD has come a long way in the intervening years, and it will continue to define how we build and reduce the carbon footprint of our buildings in the lead-up to 2030 and beyond.

Under its latest iteration, EU member states will have to upgrade our worstperforming buildings by one to three places on the standards scale in the next 10 years, either through renovation or through the energy grid or locally-sourced renewables. The directive will require member states to create a national building renovation plan to decarbonise their building stock – with exceptions for historical buildings – by 2050. It also sets out a framework for how funding streams for renovations should be handled. And from 2028, all new buildings should produce zero emissions and be equipped with solar technologies. New rules on whole-life carbon will make it difficult to demolish and rebuild existing homes and meet carbon emissions targets.

Dublin City Architect Ali Grehan highlighted this last point recently when she said that demolishing substandard flat complexes for regeneration has been made more difficult to justify under new EU energy directives, “If we’re going to have to assess whole life carbon costs of buildings, it is going to be harder and harder to justify demolition.”

As the pressure grows to deliver more homes, transforming vacant properties into affordable housing will become a greater part of the Housing for All plan, just as offsite construction has become an essential element of the housing delivery process.

At the recent inaugural MMC Ireland Conference, Ciaran O’Connor, Principal Architect for Major Project Delivery, OPW, presented an overview of how volumetric modular housing solutions for Ukrainian refugees were delivered in record time in Co Cork.

In this issue of Irish Construction News, we are delighted to publish our Top 40 Building Contractors 2023. The combined turnover of €9.13bn for the Top 40 Building Contractors in 2022 is an increase of €1.68bn on the €7.45bn overall turnover figure in 2021. This is despite the significant challenges the industry faced in 2022.

We are also delighted to bring you the views of the executives who head up four of the country’s top building contractors; Paul Brown, CEO, Sisk; Alasdair Henderson, Executive Director, BAM Ireland; Liam Kenny, Managing Director, John Paul Construction; and Tommy, Drumm, Managing Director, Collen Construction. Each one offers their unique take on the challenges faced by the industry currently undergoing a huge upheaval.

In the next issue of Irish Construction News we will feature Ireland’s Top Mechanical and Electrical Engineering firms from the past year and profile the sector’s top firms and engineering executives making their mark at home and abroad.

Please take a moment to scan the QR code below and sign up for our free e-newsletter. And, if there are any issues or stories you would like to see featured in Irish Construction News, email me at robbie@ foundationmedia.ie

Regards

Robbie Cousins

Paul Brown, CEO, John Sisk & Son.