The construction sector was worth €14.3 billion to the Irish economy last year, which represented a bounce of 6 per cent compared with 2023, new data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) shows.
The largest subsector was electrical, plumbing and other construction installation activities, which accounted for 28 per cent of the total gross value added, followed by construction of residential and non-residential building at 27 per cent.
The business of “building completion and finishing” was next in terms of the value in the sector at 13 per cent.
Investment in dwellings stood at 5.6 per cent of Ireland’s modified gross national income (GNI), down from 6.1 per cent in 2023.
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The size of the construction sector relative to the domestic Irish economy when measured by GNI was 4.5 per cent. It ranked third lowest in the European Union (EU), ahead of Malta and Greece and on par with Luxembourg and Bulgaria.
The data also shows more than 6 per cent of all people employed in Ireland worked in the construction sector in 2024, which was below the EU average of 7 per cent.
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Total employment in the sector went up by 2.8 per cent in 2024, driven by growth in employment in construction of buildings.
Top occupations in construction were electricians and electrical fitters, carpenters and joiners, and construction and building trades.
The data also showed the top nationalities, aside from Ireland, engaged in construction in 2006 and 2022 using the census of population from the respective years.
Romania was the only nationality that saw an increase in its numbers since 2006. The remaining nationalities saw significant declines, most notably, Poland, whose numbers fell by 63 per cent since 2006. In 2022, 85 per cent of all Construction workers were Irish citizens.
Construction of buildings continued to have the highest earnings in construction at €1,041 per week in 2024. Most employees in the construction sector earned from €40,000 to €50,000 in the year.
The data also shows Ireland’s investment in dwellings well exceeded the EU average before the financial crash of 2008. However, post financial crash, investment in dwellings in Ireland fell considerably below the EU average, only recovering to comparable levels from 2022 onwards.
Ireland’s growth in investment from 2020 onwards significantly outpaced other comparable EU member states. In 2020, Ireland ranked 20th overall but by 2024 Ireland ranked sixth, behind the likes of Cyprus, Italy, and Germany.
