n Guiding the Society

GUIDING GUIDING THE SOCIETY THE SOCIETY

THE SCSI HAS THE KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLSETS WITHIN ITS BROAD MEMBERSHIP TO CONTRIBUTE HUGELY TO THE RESOLUTION OF THE HOUSING CRISIS AND CREATE A BETTER CONSTRUCTION AND PROPERTY INDUSTRY, SAYS NEW SOCIETY PRESIDENT MICHEÁL MAHON.

New President of the SCSI Micheál Mahon takes charge during an uneasy time but says the Society will work tirelessly on raising awareness with policymakers of the need to create a sustainable property and construction industry, and avoid the peaks and troughs that damage the sector.

The last recession led to emigration and skills shortages. This has proven extremely difficult to

INTERVIEW

Colm Quinn Journalist and Sub-Editor, Think Media recover from and is something Micheál is passionate about avoiding again: “There’s been a huge drain of resources in terms of professionals and tradespeople that the country can’t afford. It’s almost a missed generation; those people should be back here. But history has shown that’s what invariably happens in our industry when we have a severe recession, so we have to try and ensure it doesn’t happen again”. Micheál is from Bunclody in Co. Wexford and still lives there with his family. He attended Waterford Institute of Technology before completing his degree in DIT Bolton St. He went on to do a postgraduate degree in project management in Trinity College. After many years working in the sector in quantity surveying practices and contracting organisations in Dublin and the south east, he went on to open his own practice, MGM Partnership, which focuses on the

two professional areas that he qualified in: “We are chartered quantity surveyors and chartered project managers. We’re involved in projects across Leinster, Dublin, the south“ THERE’S BEEN A HUGE DRAIN OF RESOURCES IN TERMS OF PROFESSIONALS AND TRADESPEOPLE THAT THE COUNTRY CAN’T AFFORD. east and really we’ve worked on projects across the country in all sectors of the industry, including residential, educational, hotel or commercial developments”.

Priorities The Society runs on teamwork, and one of Micheál’s aims for his year as President is to continue to use that to improve the SCSI: “We undertook a governance review over the last two years in the Society. At the AGM we got approval to proceed with the new governance structures. The implementation of those is one of my priorities over the next 12 months. We have a council of 28 members, all top-quality professionals from various professional groups and regions. It’s about harnessing that brain power and the intellectual knowledge of that group in terms of setting directions and setting policies for the Society moving forward. That’s really what the governance review ultimately is about, as well as streamlining procedures and making the organisation fit for purpose”. Micheál believes communication to those outside of the sector, including policymakers and the general public, should consist of a simple message. The Society is unapologetic that the country needs a sustainable construction and property industry: “We see ourselves as the independent voice of land, property and construction. We’re trying to get that message out there that we will play our part in trying to

achieve that sustainable model I talked about. What I mean by a sustainable model is that we don’t have peaks and troughs, where we go into a recession and then you’re trying to build back up. It takes a long time to recover and get back to required output, particularly in terms of housing units and infrastructure that are needed in the country”. Apart from Covid-19, the issue of the supply of residential property is still the main concern in the industry and Micheál says the SCSI is uniquely equipped to provide a major part of the solution: “The housing issue is an area where the Society can and will contribute hugely because of our expertise across land, property and construction. Even in the last two weeks, we’ve had significant interaction with Government departments and policymakers. To me, the SCSI having a positive impact on the housing issue is an area I’m hugely enthusiastic about being involved in, as it is the biggest domestic issue facing the country apart from Covid”. The SCSI has a number of recommendations on how to increase the supply of housing in the country, and improve the industry in general, says Micheál: “We’ve recently issued a report called The Real Cost of New Housing Delivery 2020. We’ve set out recommendations in that that the Government should set up a commission for housing, which was outlined in the Programme for Government, and get all stakeholders and expertise into that group so that they can make informed decisions. We secondly believe that there should be a land price register, similar to the Property Price Register. Land is the great unknown at the minute. You now have visibility on the property sector with prices all there to see. And we do believe land warrants a separate register. Certainly, there should be some transparency in relation to land transactions, so that the policymakers can react to that”. The Government should ensure that it backs projects already laid out: “We are pushing, through our involvement as chair of the Construction Industry Council, to ensure that they implement Project Ireland 2040, particularly now in light of the likely downturn in certain sectors. It goes back to the same theme: we need this sustainable model so if there’s a dip in certain sectors, the Government should be trying to make sure there’s a market for construction because once the industry capacity reduces it’s so hard for it to get back to the resource levels and the productivity levels that it had been at”.

Covid-19 Covid is obviously a concern for everyone, and Micheál says his aim is to steer the SCSI’s path through the next period of time: “For members, from the Board’s perspective, obviously we’ll be monitoring the guidance in relation to Covid-19 and safety is obviously going to be of paramount concern. We’ll continue to monitor what is happening and we will address each scenario as it arises in a safe and responsible manner”. The pandemic has affected every sector of the economy, but Micheál believes the construction and property industry has progressed safely, outside of a few isolated incidences of Covid-19, since it opened back up in May: “That has been good, but our concern now would be, and that’s what we’ll monitor going forward, the future pipeline of work. Certain sectors are being badly hit. Not many funders will fund hotel developments at the minute or retail developments. It’s clear that there will be some sectors worse hit than others in the property and construction sector. Similarly with offices, obviously it is difficult to predict the impact of Covid on the demand for office space. It’s early to say what the likely impact is overall on the industry will be. It’s something we’re watching closely through sentiment surveys and talking to our members as to what’s happening out there. There is a concern that certain elements of the property and construction industries will be hit, but it’s too early to say exactly what that impact will be”. Micheál thinks that in light of this, something should be done to keep those workers and skills in the country and improve the housing situation: “There will be certain sectors of the industry where there will be less demand. As the industry

Getting stuck in Micheál is heavily involved in volunteering, especially with the GAA, having been involved at club and county level. He was on the management committee of Wexford County Board. He is also on the board of management of his local secondary school and was director of Wexford Chamber of Commerce. Micheál is married to Trudy, and they live in Bunclody, Co. Wexford. They have four children: Derry, Ríona, Heather and Robyn: “They all play sports, so we’re constantly driving to training and matches, whether it be GAA or hockey or swimming”. Micheál’s primary sporting interest is in the GAA but he is also into all sports: “Between work, family, the SCSI and sports, it’s kind of full on. But I’m looking forward to the next 12 months. We’ve a really great team. I’m really looking forward to working closely with our new CEO, Shirley Coulter, who has worked phenomenally hard since she came into her position in January”.

has built up a certain level of output and resources, the Government should embark on a significant direct public housing programme, where they build the housing themselves, outsourcing it to industry basically. Because they will get good value for the taxpayer in terms of tender prices”.

Benefitting each other Things like the housing crisis and the industry generally, lend themselves to collaboration between the professional groups, explains Micheál: “If you take for example, the housing crisis, that involves land and it involves construction, so you’d have quantity surveyors and project managers. Then you’d have residential surveyors selling units and renting them. And even when apartment blocks are finished, we have facilities management people, so our members are involved from the very occupation. I will certainly be trying to harness that collaboration that’s already there between the professional groups over the next 12 months to ensure the SCSI is at the forefront of addressing the key issues for the construction and property sector in this Covid environment, while also continuing our work to support members in their professional practice. We aim to harness and continue the collaboration between professional groups that already exists and enhance it in our approach to housing and efforts to achieve a sustainable property and construction industry”.

SCSI supporting members The SCSI has been active during the lockdown, says Micheál, in ensuring members get as much support as possible during this time in terms of the provision of high-quality CPD, HR consultancy services and other areas: “We actually retained a HR company and made it available to members. The CPD covers all sorts of issues, such as finance and practical matters, as well as educational material. All meetings, including our Council, Board,

inception of a project, right through to its professional group and regional meetings have continued, albeit now virtually. Productivity has been really good. The housing report and other key projects were delivered in the middle of all this. There were reports issued recently in terms of residential and commercial property also, so reports and output by the Society are continuing at a very strong pace and I’m really impressed by the output during this period. It’s been brilliant by all the staff and the professional groups and volunteers”.

Message to members Micheál is available to all members of the SCSI and says he is big on teamwork: “As President I’m here whether you’re the MD of a large company or if you’re a junior surveyor starting out on your journey. I’ve a favourite story: allegedly JFK was at a space centre in the early 60s, where the Americans were plotting to go to the moon. He was walking around the facility and he saw a janitor cleaning. He went over to the janitor and he said: ‘Hi, I’m Jack Kennedy, the President’. And the janitor said: ‘Hi, I’m helping put a man on the moon’. I like that story because it shows everybody is involved and has a role to play. I’m here if it’s somebody starting out in surveying or you’re an MD of one of the bigger practices – just reach out”.