The 2025 Irish Construction Excellence Awards (ICE Awards), held at the Convention Centre Dublin, were once again a reminder of the ambition and professionalism that define our industry.

CPAS was honoured to sponsor the Health, Safety and Wellbeing category — a recognition not just of high standards, but of something more fundamental: looking after the people who build Ireland’s future.

This category speaks to values that go beyond compliance. Health, safety, and wellbeing are about respect — for workers, for teams, and for families. In our line of work at CPAS, we’ve seen how wellbeing in all its forms can shape a person’s experience of the job. When it’s missing, it’s felt deeply. When it’s embedded, it lifts everyone.

Recognising Leadership That Puts People First

This year’s winners showed what it means to place people at the centre of operations:

• Flynn – Main Contractor T/O up to €250m
• Murphy – Main Contractor T/O over €250m
• Kiernan Structural Steel – Specialist or Specialist Services T/Oup to €60m
• Dornan – Specialist or Specialist Services T/O over €60m

Their initiatives went beyond policies and procedures. Dornan, for example, has made mental health a visible and supported part of site culture, while Kiernan Structural Steel’s Community Day, held in memory of a late colleague, showed how care and solidarity can take root across a workforce.

These companies are showing leadership not just in metrics, but in mindset — creating safer, healthier environments where people feel seen, supported, and valued.

Wellbeing Beyond the Hard Hat

At CPAS, our focus is financial wellbeing — but it’s inseparable from physical and mental wellbeing. We’ve met workers who are struggling with uncertainty about their futures, who don’t know what happens if they fall ill, or how to plan for retirement. And we’ve also seen the difference it makes when those supports are in place.

Through our work with employers across the sector, we help put those building blocks in place: pensions through CWPS and CERS, income protection and death-in-service benefits, and one-to-one guidance through Milestone Advisory. When people know they’re looked after — financially and otherwise — they can focus, thrive, and plan for more than just the next payslip.

Why These Awards Matter

The ICE Awards are a celebration, but also a mirror. They show us where the bar is being raised — not just in innovation or project delivery, but in how companies care for their teams. In a sector known for its risks and pressures, it’s heartening to see that culture is shifting. These awards shine a light on the people behind the hard hats — and the systems that help them succeed.

Recognition isn’t just about applause. It’s about momentum. It encourages others to reflect, to learn, and to take the next step forward.

Looking Ahead

Supporting this category isn’t just about one evening a year. At CPAS, we’re committed to playing a small part in a much bigger movement — one that puts people first in every sense: their safety, their health, their dignity, and their future.

As auto-enrolment approaches and the conversation around wellbeing deepens, we’ll continue to listen, advise, and advocate for long-term thinking — because security isn’t just built on-site. It’s built over a lifetime.

For further information you can reach out to John Geraghty, Business Development Consultant, CPAS, via email at: j.geraghty@cpas.ie. CPAS manages the Construction Workers Pension Scheme (CWPS), Construction Workers Sick Pay Trust, Construction Executive Retirement Savings (CERS), and it provides additional financial support services through Milestone Advisory DAC.

John Geraghty, Business Development Consultant, CPAS