Minister Heydon and Minister Collins welcome the Timber in Construction Steering Group’s final report and recommendations to increase the use of timber

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon TD and Minister of State with responsibility for Forestry, Farm Safety and Horticulture Niall Collins TD along with Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, James Browne TD, and Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, Peter Burke TD, today welcomed the publication of the final report from the interdepartmental and industry Timber in Construction Steering Group.

Minister Heydon brought the report, which summarises the group’s recommendations to increase the use of timber in construction in Ireland and is the result of significant collaboration between departments and industry stakeholders, to cabinet earlier today.

Minister Heydon said:

Minister of State at the Department, Niall Collins said:

Minister Collins continued:

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, James Browne TD, added:

Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, Peter Burke TD, said:

The report provides a set of seven strategic recommendations for which specific implementation deadlines and responsible leads are outlined. Three interconnected pillars connect these recommendations which include, Regulation and Standards; Procurement and Carbon Policy; and Innovation, Training and Adoption. These provide a route for transition towards a low-carbon built environment.

The Chair of the Group Professor J Owen Lewis concluded:

The Timber in Construction Steering Group was established in November 2023. The Group developed a forum for government and industry to work collaboratively to create the conditions to increase the use of timber in construction whilst ensuring the highest degree of building safety and property protection. It also examined the regulatory and standardisation challenges aimed to maximise the use of home-grown timber in construction. All reports from the group are available on the Departments of Agriculture, Food and Marines website. Timber in Construction Steering Group.

The Steering Group and its five associated thematic groups brought together members from 64 institutions and organisations. The Steering Group of 16 members and an Independent Chair were Ministerial appointed and represented key industry bodies, as well as senior representatives of relevant government departments, agencies and academia. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) provided the Secretariat. Over the two-year term, the Steering Group met 15 times with subgroups meeting more regularly. Throughout its mandate, the group’s members contributed to the development of technical and policy-oriented publications aimed at increasing and advancing the use of timber in construction. In addition, they worked to raise awareness of the environmental, economic and social benefits of using timber. The five thematic groups focused on the following key areas:

• TG1: Market Opportunity,

• TG2: Regulation, Standards and Compliance,

• TG3: Public Procurement and Demonstration Projects,

• TG4: Research and Development, and

• TG5: Communication, Education, Training and Public Awareness.

The thematic groups developed the measures which were set out in Terms of Reference and identified actions to deliver each task. Each measure was aligned with cross cutting actions under the Climate Action Plan and Ireland’s Forest Strategy Implementation Plan 2023-2027.

Timber products play a vital role in providing sustainable material for construction. Ireland’s forests are 11.6% of the land area with conifer species representing almost 70% of the stocked area. These species provide a significant supply of timber for construction, and this supply is forecasted to increase from 5 million cubic metres of roundwood now to almost 7.8 million by 2035. Since the 1980s, the government and the EU have invested over €3 billion in establishing a forest resource with additional funding of more than €1.3 billion committed to the Forestry Programme (2023-2027). Ireland’s Forest Strategy and Shared National Vision set out how Irish-grown timber is envisaged to be the primary material for new Irish homes by 2050. Increasing and promoting the production and use of innovative long-life timber products will help decarbonise the built environment. Ireland’s sustainably managed forests provide the renewable resource of timber as an alternative to more carbon-intensive products such as concrete and steel.

The working groups reports have provided a range of recommendations and resources which, when taken together have the capacity to be transformative in delivering an increase in the use of timber in Irish construction. The relevant government departments and agencies will examine these recommendations and put in place measures to determine the potential for adoption.

The reports from the group are available from the Timber in Construction website: https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/864a9-timber-in-construction-steering-group/#findings