As we are all well aware of by now, Brexit may affect the Irish economy. Although, one key part of the economy that we tend to overlook when it comes to this massive change is construction, which can and does play a significant role in our day-to-day life decisions.
Construction is much more intricate than just having laborers come in, swing around some tools, and build a structure. Specifics in supply and demand of laborers, resources, time, materials, consumers, money and a multitude of others aspects all play a part in construction outputs.
If Brexit is to occur, especially a no deal Brexit, there are a number of barriers that can arise. These barriers can and will be placed on construction companies, especially those currently working on a project. Some of these barriers include a reduced labor force, slower materials delivery, and possible construction penalties.
What current construction workers point out is that there is a steady decline in the amount of workers each year, and an even steadier decline in quality construction workers. If a hard border were to happen, many projects that have Northern Irish or UK residents working on their projects would have massive difficulty in getting to their workplace each day.
Disruptions having to do with travel into Ireland could push these workers to stay away from jobs in Ireland in the future, leaving construction projects heavily understaffed and project completion rates falling.
Additionally, resources from these same areas would be less accessible, leaving shipping companies with no choice but to delay orders. Not only does this lack of material affect the shipping company, it also slows down construction significantly. Many times, this type of slow down can create hefty fees which can and will cause confusion in regards to who will pay these.
With many of these vital aspects of construction being less unattainable, prices begin to rise significantly. This is basic economics; if supply decreases prices go up. Higher prices of materials means higher value of building, which can be a huge issue.
If housing projects begin to rise in price, either quality or size of the house must diminish to keep the value at the previously estimated value. There are many hard decisions that must be made in order to accommodate such changes, many of which may mean completing housing projects that the majority of people interested in moving cannot afford.
This defeats the entire point of building new residences and expanding Dublin. If no one can afford to live there, it is doing more harm than help.
