(Have a story you think should be covered? Contact editor@constructionnetworkireland.com)
1-A lack of suitable office space and homes could cost Ireland 60,000 jobs according to research by consultants Future Analytics, reported in the Irish Independent yesterday.
The report found that a minimum of 14,000 new homes would be needed to accommodate financial service workers who may move from UK following the Brexit vote.
2 The City of London has already begun to see the flight of some of the biggest name in global finance, as HSBC announced it was moving 1,000 jobs to Paris, as other financial institutions relocate their European bases to a base still based in the EU. Read the FT’s report here.
3 The Irish Independent has reported that British property group Hammerson and German insurance group Allianz are to take control of properties owned by developer Joe O’Reilly’s Chartered Land, including the Dundrum Town Centre.
The deal is understood to be part of the groups acquisition from NAMA of a portfolio codenamed ‘Project Jewel’ for a reported €1.85 billion.
4 Contractors have been appointed by the OPW to commence long overdue work on the Bandon Flood Relief Scheme, with a budget of €11 million.
Mayo-based civil engineering firm Will Brothers have been appointed by the OPW to construct the new flood-scheme for the town. The town has been hit by repeated flooding in recent years, with two major floods within the month of December 2015 wreaking havoc on the town.
5 Wills Brothers were in the news elsewhere as they were part of a joint venture which lost its case against Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) in the High Court over the awarding of the contract for Dublin’s €368 million cross-city Luas line.
Wills Brothers has established a joint venture with Portuguese construction company, Somague Engenharia SA, to bid for the project.
That joint venture came second in the tendering process for the 6km of track linking the existing Green and Red Luas lines as well as extending it to Cabra. Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) was formed by the merger of the NRA and RPA in 2015.
6 The Irish Property Market has a “deep supply side crisis” according to Marian Finnegan, Chief Economist Sherry FitzGerald, announcing figures from the estate agent that showed property prices rose 1.4% in the second quarter of 2016.
Prices in the first six months of the year rose by 2.7% down from an increase of 2.8% in the same period in the previous year. High rents and property prices will seriously effect Ireland’s property prices Finnegan said.
Knight Frank is quoting €10m for one of the largest land banks to come on the market in recent years.
The 164 acres are situated in a strategic location between Dublin Airport and the M50 motorway in Silloge, Co Dublin.
The majority of the land is zoned “warehouse and distribution” and is located close to the IKEA store in North Dublin.
7 The first report by the Standards Commission under the Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015 showed that the Construction Industry Federation (CIF) was the largest lobby group in Dáil Eireann after IBEC.
The new legislation requires any individual or organisation that lobbies public officials to register and report on their lobbying activities every four months. CIF lodged 182 reports relating to lobbying of members of the Dáil.
8.
The Irish Times reports that a concerted effort is being made to get school leavers to consider college courses relating to the construction sector, including engineering and quantity surveying.
While the construction industry is currently estimated to create 1,000 jobs per month over the past few years, there is a massive shortage of available graduates in key areas of the sector. The 2016 CAO deadline is today.
9 The ramifications of the vote by the UK electorate to leave the EU in the Brexit referendum are likely to have a serious impact on the Irish construction sector – 55 per cent of Irish construction and timber exports go to the UK, which is still Ireland’s single biggest trading partner.
The government announced during the week that it was putting in place a contingency plan for Brexit, though given the ever changing landscape it is still unclear what exactly the contingency plan will actually involve.
And finally…
10.
The Irish Independent reported during the week that South Dublin residents were objecting to attempts by developer Johnny Ronan to establish an embassy on Burlington Road in Dublin 4.
On reading the story it emerged that the building in question was not actually to be an embassy to Johnny Ronan, but would be marketed to nations looking to establish an embassy in the City Centre. No man is an island (or a nation) etc…
