The construction industry was today urged to consider alternatives to "brick-and-block" methods, and the Government was warned against investing in physical infrastructure at the expense of health and education.
The comments came at today’s Contractors’ Day Conference held in Dublin as part of Plan Expo run with the Construction Industry Federation (CIF) and the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland (RIAAI).
Labour costs related to brickwork in Dublin construction projects have increased by 82 per cent since 1997, over 100 contractors attending the conference heard.
According to a survey by Patterson Kempster Shortall (PKS) - commissioned by the CIF - overall Dublin brickwork prices have risen by 60 per cent in the last four years - mainly due to increased labour costs.
The unpredictability of the industry at the moment along with spates of industrial unrest and longer programme durations are further reasons to look at alternative to brickwork, said Mr Thomás Kelly, senior project surveyor at PKS.
Leading construction industry economist Mr Michael Webb told the conference the Government should not prioritise investment in roads and bridges at the expense of education and health care infrastructure.
"Some sectors of our economy, such as construction, despite the economic slowdown, are still experiencing great difficulties in getting sufficient numbers of skilled workers," he said.
"A failure to provide the necessary investment in this area [education and healthcare] will only lead to major bottlenecks in terms of availability of labour when our economy returns to stronger growth," Mr Webb said.