Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 19 May 2020

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response

Briefing by ICTU, HSA and CIF Representatives on the Reopening of the Construction Industry

Mr. Tom Parlon:

The guidance issued to the construction industry stated that construction sites are to be opened where it is safe to do so. I can understand that at the moment it would be highly risky for construction workers to go into a house where a family is living to replace a kitchen or something like that. However, I read today that the negotiations for the new Government have called for a very substantial number of retrofits. That is one of the ways forward. We are going to need stimulus. There will be a green agenda regardless of who forms the Government. That will be highly labour-intensive. If the physical distancing requirements continue, retrofitting will be a challenge. It will probably involve much smaller teams. Retrofitting cannot be done off-site. Workers have to move into the house to do the work.

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