OVERVIEW
Irish construction market trends and key drivers
Turner & Townsend is interacting with the supply chain to better understand the market dynamics that are fundamentally affecting construction price and cost movements in the Republic of Ireland. Every six months we collate survey responses from Irish contractors, allowing us to capture a snapshot of the local market. This enables us to provide our clients with the most relevant and up to date market intelligence.
This regional market intelligence report contains core findings drawn from the 2025 Q3 survey period. Overall, the findings point to a stabilising Irish construction market characterised by steady costs, strong competition and early signs of a cooling trend. Tender price inflation forecasts now sit below 3.0 percent annually through 2028, signalling a shift from the volatility of recent years toward a more predictable pricing environment. Contractors are prioritising competitiveness and workload continuity over margin growth, reflecting a market that is steady but increasingly cautious.
Survey responses point to a market operating at strong current capacity, averaging 81 percent, but with weakening visibility beyond 2026. Housing continues to dominate sector performance, particularly public housing supported by state-backed programmes, while private residential and commercial activity remains subdued. Public works and education projects are providing much of the momentum, yet order-book coverage declines after 2025, indicating that project starts are not keeping pace with available capacity. Procurement strategies are diversifying, with two-stage tendering matching single-stage approaches, underscoring a shift toward risk-managed delivery.
Challenges remain centred on skilled labour shortages, administrative delays, and heightened competition, with many contractors reporting narrowing margins as they price aggressively to secure work. Sustainability engagement is improving slowly, with most respondents reporting limited adoption of net-zero commitments and embodied carbon assessments.
Overall, while the market shows resilience and stability in the near term, the combination of tight margins, declining pipeline visibility and persistent resource constraints suggests growing exposure to capacity risks beyond 2026.
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