· 72% of Irish adults say the threat of flooding in Ireland is growing, while 40% of engineers say flooding infrastructure here is poor or inadequate

· Expectations of growth and recruitment in Irish engineering firms are down on last year’s figures

72% of Irish adults say the threat of flooding in Ireland is growing, while 70% agree that man-made climate change will pose a significant threat to Ireland during the next decade. The results come from engineering representative body Engineers Ireland’s industry report, Engineering 2025, which contains data from an Ipsos B&A survey of 1,000 Irish adults.

A survey of Engineers Ireland’s members, also contained within the report, showed that 40% of Irish engineers believe flooding infrastructure in Ireland is poor or inadequate, with a further 42% viewing it as mediocre.

Climate change has been shown to increase the rate and intensity of flooding events, and last year the US-based National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration placed Dublin 23rd on its list of 36 major cities most at risk from rising sea levels and flooding.

30% of Irish engineers rate Ireland’s overall infrastructure as poor or inadequate, with housing (74%) and transport (42%) infrastructure most likely to receive this rating.

The report also notes that directors and managers in engineering firms have adopted a more pessimistic outlook than last year, with 68% stating they expect their firm’s financial position to improve in 2025, down six points from 2024. Positive sentiment concerning recruitment was also down, with 61% stating they are planning on recruiting in 2025, 10 points lower than last year’s figure.

Speaking about the results contained in Engineering 2025, Engineers Ireland’s Director General, Damien Owens, said,

“It is clear that both the Irish public and engineers are concerned about the risk of flooding and our preparedness to deal with this risk in a more unpredictable climate than ever. Additionally, 74% of Irish adults say that Ireland should devote more resources to adapting to the effects of climate change, showing an eagerness for Government to do more to ready Ireland for the impacts of global warming.

On signs of falling business confidence amongst engineering firms, Mr Owens added,

“While engineering is a resilient industry and firms here remain confident of growth in 2025, it is likely that global political volatility and speculation about increased barriers to international trade have dented the sector’s optimism.

“With most firms still planning to hire this year, and with a critical shortage of engineers in the labour market, engineering remains an extremely attractive industry in which to work”.

Read the full Engineering 2025 Barometer Report here