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Building Construction in Ireland - Market Research Report (2014-2029)

John Griffin John Griffin London, United Kingdom Last Updated: June 2024 SIC F41.200IE

Revenue

€14.9bn

2024

€14.9bn

Past 5-Year Growth

Profit

€XXX.Xm

Employees

33,277

Businesses

14,864

Wages

€X.Xbn

Building Construction in Ireland industry analysis

The Irish construction sector is procyclical, meaning building activity trends run in tandem with the ebb and flow of both public- and private-sector agents' investment trends. Having previously been saddled with a period of lacklustre property investment in the aftermath of the financial crisis, economic recovery and better investor conditions subsequently brought a number of urban development projects to fruition. Additionally, an acute housing shortage placed housebuilding targets at the forefront of state policy. As a result of bullish investment, revenue increased by more than 20% year on year over the three years through 2018, before levelling off in 2019.

Trends and Insights

  • Rising tender prices has bumped up revenue growth. Spiralling delivery costs exaggerated the impact of a post-pandemic recovery in building construction volumes on revenue.
  • Government backing has supported residential construction. The government's Housing for All policy commits £4 billion annual investment to boost Ireland's housing stock.
  • There’s strong demand for building construction in Dublin. The city accounted for more than one-fifth of planning permissions granted throughout Ireland in 2023.
  • The Building Construction industry has a high level of competition. This is largely due to the ubiquity of independent contractors both specialising in maintenance solutions and or operating in dense regional markets.
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Everything you need in one report

  • Reliable market estimates from 2014-2029
  • Competitive analysis, industry segmentation, financial benchmarks
  • Powerful SWOT, Porter’s Five Forces and risk management frameworks
  • Online membership platform with PDF, Word, Excel and PPT exports

Industry Overview

Market size and recent performance (2014-2029)

Industry revenue has grown at a CAGR of 6.7 % over the past five years, to reach an estimated €14.9bn in 2024.

Trends and Insights

Irish building construction was thriving prior to the pandemic

  • Following a sector-wide collapse during the financial crisis, lucrative contract opportunities re-emerged in the years leading up to the pandemic.
  • Additional trends and insights available with purchase
Building Construction in Ireland
Revenue (2014-2029)
IBISWorld Logo Source: IBISWorld

Industry outlook (2024-2029)

Market size is projected to grow over the next five years.

Trends and Insights

Government support presents a lifeline to housebuilding

  • High borrowing costs and the planning backlog are set to continue to weigh on housebuilding activity in the short-term, placing significant doubt upon the government's target to achieve 33,000 housing completions annually.

Biggest companies in the Building Construction in Ireland

Company
Market Share (%)
2024
Revenue (€m)
2024
John Sisk & Son (Holdings) Ltd
796.5
BAM Contractors Ltd
513.0
John Paul Construction Ltd
396.3

To view the market share and analysis for all 4 top companies in this industry, view purchase options.

Products & Services Segmentation

Building Construction in Ireland
Products & Services
IBISWorld Logo Source: IBISWorld

Industry revenue is measured across several distinct product and services lines, including Residential construction and Non-residential construction. Residential construction is the largest segment of the Building Construction in Ireland.

Trends and Insights

Housebuilding contractors have relied on government support to drive activity

  • Pre-pandemic, state-backed initiatives to solve the systematic flaws of Ireland's housing market propelled residential construction output. Significant market disruption and supply chain issues caused residential construction to fall by more than one-fifth, both in terms of volume and value of output, in 2020.
  • More insights available in the full report

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Competitors

  • There are no industries to display.

Complementors

  • Building Project Development in Ireland
  • Demolition & Site Preparation in Ireland
  • Architectural Activities in Ireland
  • Utility Project Construction in Ireland

International industries

  • Home Builders in the US
  • Apartment & Condominium Construction in the US
  • Industrial Building Construction in the US
  • Commercial Building Construction in the US
  • Municipal Building Construction in the US

View all industries in Ireland

Table of Contents

About this industry

Industry definition

Industry operators construct complete residential and non-residential buildings, either on their own account for sale, or on a fee or contract basis for external clients and property developers. Firms may outsource discrete segments of the construction phase to specialist tradespeople classified elsewhere, including electricians, mechanical engineers and scaffolders. Maintenance and repair solutions for residential and non-residential property also fall under the scope of the industry.

What's included in this industry?

Residential constructionNon-residential construction

Companies

John Sisk & Son (Holdings) LtdBAM Contractors LtdJohn Paul Construction Ltd

Purchase this report to view all 4 major companies in this industry.

Related Terms

BROWNFIELD LANDCELTIC TIGERPUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP (PPP)PRIVATE RENTED SECTOR (PRS)FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT (FDI)

Industry Code

SIC 2007

SIC 41.20 - Building Construction in Ireland

Performance

Get an indication of the industry's health through historical, current and forward-looking trends in the performance indicators that make or break businesses.

Analyst insights

Rising tender prices has bumped up revenue growth. Spiralling delivery costs exaggerated the impact of a post-pandemic recovery in building construction volumes on revenue.

In this chapter (4)

  • Current Performance
  • Outlook
  • Volatility
  • Life Cycle

Key metrics

  • Annual Revenue, Recent Growth, Forecast, Revenue Volatility
  • Number of Employees, Recent Growth, Forecast, Employees per Business, Revenue per Employee
  • Number of Businesses, Recent Growth, Forecast, Employees per Business, Revenue per Business
  • Total Profit, Profit Margin, Profit per Business

Charts

  • Revenue, including historical (2014-2023) and forecast (2024-2029)
  • Employees, including historical (2014-2023) and forecast (2024-2029)
  • Businesses, including historical (2014-2023) and forecast (2024-2029)
  • Profit, including historical (2014-2024)
  • Industry Volatility vs. Revenue Growth
  • Industry Life Cycle

Detailed analysis

  • Trends in supply, demand and current events that are driving current industry performance
  • Expected trends, economic factors and ongoing events that drive the industry's outlook
  • Key success factors for businesses to overcome volatility
  • How contribution to GDP, industry saturation, innovation, consolidation, and technology and systems influence the industry's life cycle phase.

Products and Markets

Learn about an industry's products and services, markets and trends in international trade.

Analyst insight

Government backing has supported residential construction. The government's Housing for All policy commits £4 billion annual investment to boost Ireland's housing stock.

In this chapter

  • Products & Services
  • Major Markets

Key metrics

  • Largest market segment and value in 2024
  • Product innovation level

Charts

  • Products & services segmentation in 2024
  • Major market segmentation in 2024

Detailed analysis

  • Trends impacting the recent performance of the industry's various segments
  • Innovations in the industry's product or service offering, specialization or delivery method
  • Key factors that successful businesses consider in their offerings
  • Buying segments and key trends influencing demand for industry products and services

Geographic Breakdown

Discover where business activity is most concentrated in an industry and the factors driving these trends to find opportunities and conduct regional benchmarking.

Analyst insights

There’s strong demand for building construction in Dublin. The city accounted for more than one-fifth of planning permissions granted throughout Ireland in 2023.

In this chapter (1)

  • Business Locations

Charts

  • Share of revenue, establishment, wages and employment in each region
  • Share of population compared to establishments in each region in 2024

Tables

  • Number and share of establishments in each region in 2024
  • Number and share of revenue each region accounts for in 2024
  • Number and share of wages each region accounts for in 2024
  • Number and share of employees in each region in 2024

Detailed analysis

  • Geographic spread of the industry across Europe, and trends associated with changes in the business landscape
  • Key success factors for businesses to use location to their advantage

Competitive Forces

Get data and insights on what's driving competition in an industry and the challenges industry operators and new entrants may face, with analysis built around Porter's Five Forces framework.

Analyst insights

The Building Construction industry has a high level of competition. This is largely due to the ubiquity of independent contractors both specialising in maintenance solutions ...

In this chapter (4)

  • Concentration
  • Barriers to Entry
  • Substitutes
  • Buyer & Supplier Analysis

Key metrics

  • Industry concentration level
  • Industry competition level and trend
  • Barriers to entry level and trend
  • Substitutes level and trend
  • Buyer power level and trend
  • Supplier power level and trend

Charts

  • Market share concentration among the top 4 suppliers from 2019-2024
  • Supply chain including upstream supplying industries and downstream buying industries, flow chart

Detailed analysis

  • Factors impacting the industry’s level of concentration, such as business distribution, new entrants, or merger and acquisition activity.
  • Key success factors for businesses to manage the competitive environment of the industry.
  • Challenges that potential industry entrants face such as legal, start-up costs, differentiation, labor/capital intensity and capital expenses.
  • Key success factors for potential entrants to overcome barriers to entry.
  • Competitive threats from potential substitutes for the industry’s own products and services.
  • Key success factors for how successful businesses can compete with substitutes.
  • Advantages that buyers have to keep favorable purchasing conditions.
  • Advantages that suppliers have to maintain favorable selling conditions.
  • Key success factors for how businesses can navigate buyer and supplier power.

Companies

Learn about the performance of the top companies in the industry.

Analyst insights

Strong growth in key markets aided John Sisk & Son’s expansion. The company noted strong returns from the data information and communications technology, advanced manufacturi...

In this chapter

  • Market Share Concentration
  • Companies
  • Company Spotlights

Charts

  • Industry market share by company in 2020 through 2024
  • Major companies in the industry, including market share, revenue, profit and profit margin in 2024
  • Overview of John Sisk & Son (Holdings) Ltd's performance by revenue, market share and profit margin from 2018 through 2024
  • Overview of BAM Contractors Ltd's performance by revenue, market share and profit margin from 2018 through 2024
  • Overview of John Paul Construction Ltd's performance by revenue, market share and profit margin from 2018 through 2024
  • Overview of revenue, market share and profit margin trend for one additional company

Detailed analysis

  • Description and key data for John Sisk & Son (Holdings) Ltd, and factors influencing its performance in the industry
  • Description and key data for BAM Contractors Ltd, and factors influencing its performance in the industry
  • Description and key data for John Paul Construction Ltd, and factors influencing its performance in the industry
  • Description, key data and performance trends for one additional company

External Environment

Understand the demographic, economic and regulatory factors that shape how businesses in an industry perform.   

Analyst insights

The number of housing starts is key to short-term prospects. The number of housing starts in Ireland can be a proxy for the level of residential construction investment. A ri...

In this chapter

  • External Drivers
  • Regulation & Policy
  • Assistance

Key metrics

  • Regulation & policy level and trend
  • Assistance level and trend

Charts

  • Regulation & Policy historical data and forecast (2014-2029) 
  • Assistance historical data and forecast (2014-2029) 

Detailed analysis

  • Demographic and macroeconomic factors influencing the industry, including Regulation & Policy and Assistance
  • Major types of regulations, regulatory bodies, industry standards or specific regulations impacting requirements for industry operators
  • Key governmental and non-governmental groups or policies that may provide some relief for industry operators.

Financial Benchmarks

View average costs for industry operators and compare financial data against an industry's financial benchmarks over time. 

Analyst insights

Operational disruption has constrained profit. With costs continuing to rise, albeit at a considerably slower rate, operational disruption stemming from the pandemic spurred ...

In this chapter

  • Cost Structure
  • Financial Ratios
  • Key Ratios

Key metrics

  • Profit margin, and how it compares to the sector-wide margin
  • Average wages, and how it compares to the sector-wide average wage
  • Largest cost component as a percentage of revenue
  • Industry average ratios for days' receivables, industry coverage and debt-to-net-worth ratio

Charts

  • Average industry operating costs as a share of revenue, including purchases, wages, depreciation, utilities, rent, other costs and profit in 2024
  • Average sector operating costs as a share of revenue, including purchases, wages, depreciation, utilities, rent, other costs and profit in 2024
  • Investment vs. share of economy

Data tables

  • Cash Flow & Debt Service Ratios (2014-2029)
  • Revenue per Employee (2014-2029)
  • Revenue per Enterprise (2014-2029)
  • Employees per Establishment (2014-2029)
  • Employees per Enterprise (2014-2029)
  • Average Wage (2014-2029)
  • Wages/Revenue (2014-2029)
  • Establishments per Enterprise (2014-2029)
  • IVA/Revenue (2014-2029)
  • Imports/Demand (2014-2029)
  • Exports/Revenue (2014-2029)

Detailed analysis

  • Trends in the cost component for industry operators and their impact on industry costs and profitability 

Key Statistics

Industry Data

Data Tables

Including values and annual change:

  • Revenue (2014-2029)
  • IVA (2014-2029)
  • Establishments (2014-2029)
  • Enterprises (2014-2029)
  • Employment (2014-2029)
  • Exports (2014-2029)
  • Imports (2014-2029)
  • Wages (2014-2029)

Methodology

How are IBISWorld reports created?

IBISWorld has been a leading provider of trusted industry research for over 50 years to the most successful companies worldwide. With offices in Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and China, we are proud to have local teams of analysts that conduct research, data analysis and forecasting to produce data-driven industry reports.

Our analysts start with official, verified and publicly available sources of data to build the most accurate picture of each industry. Analysts then leverage their expertise and knowledge of the local markets to synthesize trends into digestible content for IBISWorld readers. Finally, each report is reviewed by one of IBISWorld’s editors, who provide quality assurance to ensure accuracy and readability.

IBISWorld relies on human-verified data and human-written analysis to compile each standard industry report. We do not use generative AI tools to write insights, although members can choose to leverage AI-based tools within the platform to generate additional analysis formats.

What data sources do IBISWorld analysts use?

Each industry report incorporates data and research from government databases, industry-specific sources, industry contacts, and our own proprietary database of statistics and analysis to provide balanced, independent and accurate insights.

Key data sources in Ireland include:

  • Central Statistics Office
  • Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment
  • Irish Tax & Customs

Analysts also use industry specific sources to complement catch-all sources, although their perspective may focus on a particular organization or representative body, rather than a clear overview of all industry operations. However, when balanced against other perspectives, industry-specific sources provide insights into industry trends.

These sources include:

  • Industry and trade associations
  • Industry federations or regulators
  • Major industry players annual or quarterly filings

Finally, IBISWorld’s global data scientists maintain a proprietary database of macroeconomic and demand drivers, which our analysts use to help inform industry data and trends. They also maintain a database of statistics and analysis on thousands of industries, which has been built over our more than 50-year history and offers comprehensive insights into long-term trends.

How does IBISWorld forecast its data?

IBISWorld’s analysts and data scientists use the sources above to create forecasts for our proprietary datasets and industry statistics. Depending on the dataset, they may use regression analysis, multivariate analysis, time-series analysis or exponential smoothing techniques to project future data for the industry or driver. Additionally, analysts will leverage their local knowledge of industry operating and regulatory conditions to impart their best judgment on the forecast model.

IBISWorld prides itself on being a trusted, independent source of data, with over 50 years of experience building and maintaining rich datasets and forecasting tools. We are proud to be the keystone source of industry information for thousands of companies across the world.

Learn more about our methodology and data sourcing on the Help Center.

Frequently Asked Questions

Unlock comprehensive answers and precise data upon purchase. View purchase options.

What is the market size of the Building Construction industry in Ireland in 2024?

The market size of the Building Construction industry in Ireland is €14.9bn in 2024.

How many businesses are there in the Building Construction in Ireland industry in 2024?

There are 14,864 businesses in the Building Construction industry in Ireland, which has grown at a CAGR of 4.0 % between 2019 and 2024.

Has the Building Construction industry in Ireland grown or declined over the past 5 years?

The market size of the Building Construction industry in Ireland has been growing at a CAGR of 6.7 % between 2019 and 2024.

What is the forecast growth of the Building Construction industry in Ireland over the next 5 years?

Over the next five years, the Building Construction industry in Ireland is expected to grow.

What are the biggest companies in the Building Construction market in Ireland?

The biggest companies operating in the Building Construction market in Ireland are John Sisk & Son (Holdings) Ltd, BAM Contractors Ltd and John Paul Construction Ltd

What does the Building Construction in Ireland include?

Residential construction and Non-residential construction are part of the Building Construction industry.

Which companies have the highest market share in the Building Construction in Ireland?

The company holding the most market share in Ireland is John Sisk & Son (Holdings) Ltd.

How competitive is the Building Construction industry in Ireland?

The level of competition is high and steady in the Building Construction industry in Ireland.