Sisk said the €250m, 104-week programme will see mostly two-storey buildings containing between 50 and 130 beds built in Ardee, Athlone, Clonmel, Thomastown, Killarney, Midleton, and St Finbarr’s, Cork by the end of 2024. (St Finbarr’s will have a three-story component owing to the site’s nature.)

Work starts immediately.

Catering for long and short stays, the homes will go up on sites owned by Ireland’s Health Service Executive (HSE) close to existing healthcare premises. They will replace outdated facilities.

Their superstructures will be manufactured off-site using pre-cast concrete, Sisk said, adding they would score at least an “A2” in the country’s Building Energy Rating (BER) system.

A joint venture called “Equisisk” comprising investor Equitix and John Sisk & Sons will maintain the care homes for 25 years before handing them to the HSE.

Finance is provided by the European Investment Bank (EIB), Bank of Ireland and Nord/LB.

The EIB, which is lending €100m to the scheme, called it “the first ever PPP financing for community nursing”.