Mr. Tom Parlon:

Before the pandemic we faced a challenge in getting people to work in the construction industry because we were competing with all the other sectors. We were just about to embark on a careers campaign funded by our members. That pressure is now off because there are forecasts of 300,000 people in long-term unemployment, so we have a pool of people to call on. The Deputy mentioned the move to off-site and modular work. That is a global shift which we are certainly reflecting. Strangely, several members of the Construction Industry Federation, CIF, provide modular buildings to the UK because we do not have sufficient scope in Ireland. If we were to embark on a very substantial social housing or apartment building programme, that would allow our operators to get into modular work. There is no question that it is the way forward.

The Deputy referred to some tragedies in construction. We have a very strong culture of health and safety. My colleague who is present here, Mr. Dermot Carey, is director for safety and training. Massive investment is made by all and sundry into health and safety. Complying with those requirements is a very big cost. We were able to get our standard operating procedure together so quickly, ahead of most other players, because we have that good culture. The move to off-site and modular construction is inevitable. It will probably mean that people will be working in enclosed factories, putting modular pieces together, rather than on sites. It will protect people from the worst of the weather but it will still involve a substantial amount of labour. We foresee that about 150,000 people will be back to work in the industry within about six or seven months.