The Irish Aggregates and Concrete Products Industry

The aggregates and concrete products industry is an essential and strategically critical part of Irish society. The products produced by the industry enables us to provide places to live, places to work, places to play and much more. These products literally underpin our society. It is easy to regard a quarry as a hole in the ground. It takes a bit more imagination to appreciate that many of the good things of life come out of that quarry.

For example, the Irish aggregates and concrete products industry produces the essential materials for:

  • the building of approximately 30,000 new homes currently;

  • the construction of Ireland’s national infrastructure under the Education Capital Investment Plan 2016-2020;

  • the construction and maintenance of our 100,000 km road network under the Transport Capital Investment Plan 2016-2020;

  • the construction of Ireland’s national commercial and retail infrastructure;

  • the construction and maintenance of the Ireland national farm buildings and infrastructure.

In addition…

  • Every year over 7 tonnes of aggregates per head of population is placed on the market by the aggregates industry.

  • Over 4 million cubic metres of ready-mixed concrete was consumed in Ireland in 2017.

  • Approximately 120 million concrete blocks were produced in Ireland in 2017.

  • The aggregates and concrete products industry employs around 5,000 people directly. Many of these jobs are in rural areas where other employment opportunities can be scarce.

  • Exports of precast concrete amounted to an estimated €134m in 2017.

  • In 2017 there was approximately 0.75 million tonnes of agricultural lime produced by Irish Quarries.