Construction

Construction sector ‘operating at just 80% capacity’

New survey by Turner & Townsend shows contractors expect construction material inflation to level off over coming three-year period

Philip Matthews, managing director of Turner & Townsend: ‘We just need that stable inflation over the next number of years to give contractors the confidence to start projects’. Picture: Maura Hickey

The Irish construction sector could ramp up its output to produce 40,000 homes a year if it operated a full capacity, the head of significant construction consultancy has said.

Philip Matthews, managing director of Turner & Townsend, the construction consultancy, said its new research showed that the sector was operating at just 80 per cent of its total capacity.

The finding from a survey of Irish construction contractors would indicate the sector has capacity to ...