Averil Power (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wish to make a brief observation on the school building programme. The European Central Bank interest rate is now down to virtually zero - it is 0.15%. With the cost of borrowing so low, this is a key time for us to be investing in infrastructure like housing and schools. I would hope that the Minister would stress that point as part of the budget negotiations. Such infrastructure should not be viewed as a cost but as an asset for the State going forward. We must invest now. We should take this opportunity to invest properly in school building and housing programmes while the cost of borrowing is so low. Such programmes also get people back to work. I am sure the Minister will make these arguments during the negotiations. The local employment generated by school building projects is very important, particularly as much of the work can be done by smaller, local firms, unlike large roads projects where the contracts are often won by very large companies which are not always Irish. School building projects tend to be done by smaller local companies and offer enormous potential in terms of creating local employment. We should really be pushing that point.