Steven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I will move to SOLAS and the issue of the site workers and the chain of workers we will need over the next two to three decades. Modular and off-site construction open up a range of types of jobs that would not have been conventional building site type jobs. I am talking about design work and working indoors where it is not wet or lashing rain on top of you like it is on some sites. Is SOLAS going to the schools and telling them this is a career? How does somebody get into that line of work?

As for trades, there are people in trades making far more money than very qualified professionals. The work can be tough and it is hard on the knees and back, etc., but it is a good job for the future and we know what the line on housing is. The figures show we need to build 30,000, 40,000 and 50,000 houses per year, so there is a line of work in it. Tell me how SOLAS is engaging with schools or third-level institutions on that.