In this article we cover:

  • How much does it cost in sqm to build in Ireland today?
  • Where are materials prices heading?
  • Where are labour costs heading?
  • New reality and state of play


As we enter another busy period for the building industry, (hello summer!), the war in the Middle East has reared its ugly head again – to the loud sighs of people starting or perhaps in the middle of their projects.

Whether this new war will be protracted or not, there is no doubt building material prices have been hit and there appears to be no immediate respite.

I’m hearing alarming reports from my network of contacts of almost weekly, if not daily, price rises, particularly in insulation and plastics, which make up quite a bit of the current composition of buildings.

Would I be wrong to call it out and say that this almost instant rise in materials prices is profiteering by some of the larger companies, seeing it as a chance to make a quick killing on an unfortunate opportunity? I say perhaps.

That said, the cost of fuel has gone up overnight, among other factors that support a genuine case of immediate price increases.

New reality

So what does all of this mean for build costs? It’s quite straightforward. We are, for the most part, going to pay more for materials across the board.

This is because almost everything we buy to build with, has either a large dependence on oil for its manufacture or production or at the very least, transportation, and thus everything will increase.

Oil price rises usually happen over a long period, but with the war it’s happening at a very accelerated rate.

So what can we do to offset this rise? There are things that can be done, but I feel on the whole it will have only a very limited effect. The truth of it is we are at the mercy of global oil prices; this has very much proven to be the case in the past six to eight weeks.

Cost per sqm update

The knock-on effect on the overall cost of building in the short term is an increase in a cost per square foot or square metre of approximately eight to 10 per cent on materials.

This pushes the cost per sqm for a new build in Ireland to around £2,000/€2,100 to £2,200/€2,300 per sqm for a builder’s finish. I stress this is a very rough guide as costs vary from region to region, on specification as well as design, and on many other factors besides.

Extensions and renovations will probably be around £2,300/€2,450 to £2,500/€2,600 per sqm, which again is a very blunt way of calculating costs, but the aim here is to give you an idea of what ballpark you’re in. Just be aware it’s a very big park.

Hopefully, as this goes to press, the war will please God be at an end soon. And things can get back to more of a normal situation.

Because if this war drags on much more, it will unfortunately start to affect not just materials and transportation costs, it will ultimately cause wages and labour costs to rise. Hopefully we won’t need to get into that just yet…