About
About CIF
The CIF is the Irish construction industry’s representative body. It provides a broad range of services that assist members in navigating the political, business, economic and regulatory environment.
These services cross the full business spectrum and include Recruitment and Training, Legal and Industrial Relations Consultation and Advice, Health & Safety, Marketing and Industrial intelligence Reports Engagement with Government, Statutory and other industry bodies, and regular updates on all issues affecting the construction industry.
All services are provided on a national and regional basis from offices in Dublin, Cork and Galway.
Key areas
Key areas of focus
- Developing thriving regions
- Public Capital Spending Programmes
- Recruitment and planning for future skills needs
- Public Sector Procurement Contracts, Policies and Procedures
- Improving access to finance for SMEs
- Delivering ongoing training
- Resolving payment disputes and facilitating debt recovery
- Enhancing the reputation of the construction sector
Services
CIF supports your business directly with information and expert advice on a range of construction specific issues:
- Industrial Relations Problems/Employment/Legislation.
- Contracts entered into between clients/main contractors/sub contractors
- Payment Disputes/Debt recovery
- Procurement and Pre-qualification
- Planning and development issues
- Site safety issues and safety management systems
Members
CIF is a member-led organisation through its 34-member Executive Committee. CIF’s Branches and Associations appoint all members of the Executive Committee, as well as other policy-groups. The Executive Committee directs a team of executives, subject matter experts, and support staff in pursuing the objectives of the CIF’s committees, associations and branches.
Policy Committees
The Executive Body works to find the best policy outcomes for the entire industry. To support its work, the Executive Body has a number of policy sub-committees where members work to prepare developed policy platforms for consideration by the Executive Body. Among the policy Committees, the following are particularly active:
- Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Committee
- Taxation, Investment and Public Spending Committee
- Energy, Sustainability and Waste Management Committee
- Finance and Working Capital Committee
- Procurement, Tendering and Contractual Matters Committee
- Construction 4.0 Committee
Associations
At national level, the CIF has a number of sectoral Associations that pursue the policy objectives of their sub-sector of the industry. The sectoral groups are divided into five main areas:
- Master Builders and Contractors’ Association (MBCA)
- Civil Engineering Contractors’ Association (CECA)
- Mechanical & Electrical Contractors’ Associations (M&ECA)
- Irish Home Builders’ Association (IHBA)
- Alliance of Specialist Contractors’ Associations (ASCA), the umbrella group for 22 specialist sub-contracting associations within the Federation.
Regional Branches
The CIF has 13 Branches within its regional structure, with offices in Dublin, Cork and Galway. Branches across the country are very active in addressing local issues with clients, local authorities, and State agencies at regional level. Branch meetings provide a forum for members to meet and provide input on national policy issues, and to be represented in national and sectoral policy development. Branches are available to address all local area matters on behalf of members, to provide networking opportunities, and promote the use of CIF member companies within our four regions:
- Dublin Region
- Eastern Region
- Southern Region
- Western / Midland Region
More Information on our CIF Branches page.
Member Representation
CIF is the construction industry’s voice on all matters relating to the construction industry in Ireland. In relation to Health and Safety, CIF represents the views of contractors at the highest level on such bodies as the Health & Safety Authority, FAS, and the Construction Safety Partnership. Members can feed their experiences and insights directly into these fora via the Federation’s Branch and Association structure, helping to shape the implementation of a practical, cost effective, and successful industry-wide health and safety policy environment for Ireland’s construction industry.
Benefits of CIF Membership
If you have an issue, CIF’s expert support team can assist you in the vast majority of situations. Furthermore, our detailed knowledge of the economy and the investment market, sectorally and regionally, can support your marketing efforts through the provision of market intelligence and a range of networking opportunities.
A comprehensive range of training and business development programmes are available to ensure that your firm can access high quality training inputs in safety, environmental requirements, and business development.
Regular briefings on key policy development during the year are provided free to members on a regional basis.
The CIF publishes an Annual Report as well as a regular member and industry magazine Construction. We circulate this widely to all clients on our client database. In addition, the CIF has specialist registers of members of CIRI, Safe-T-Cert, Heritage Contractors and firms on the Environmental Retrofit Register. These registers are also promoted to potential clients on behalf of members.