Mr. Tom Parlon:

I thank Deputy Bailey for her positive comments. It is expensive for someone to voluntarily relocate. I appreciate the points she made about certainty in the 2040 plan but the Government needs to do more that just tell us about these things. It announced a construction sector group as part of the plan, to be chaired by Mr. Robert Watt, Secretary General of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. We welcome this as it will be a good opportunity for us. It proposes a project tracker and this will give more certainty. Our expatriates are well tuned into what is happening here and they hear reports, which the Opposition then usually rubbishes, making them wonder if the projects will happen at all. If the project tracker states that, for example, the Cork-Limerick motorway is due to reach a certain stage in the first quarter, they will be able to see that.

If a person is out of the country for more than two years, they lose their no-claims bonus, which can be up to 50%. I know of one insurance company which sought details of foreign insurance policies when assessing applications. There are simple actions we can take. The help-to-buy scheme is a no-brainer. There were issues about the cost but house building is a major contributor to the Exchequer. If we can double house building, it will be a bonanza for the Exchequer and, while there are issues about VAT, the scheme provides compensation to first-time buyers. The Central Bank restrictions and the lending maximum of 3.5 times a person's income have put a limit on what a first-time buying couple can afford and they have kept massive pressure on the price of houses.

That is a positive thing because it is stopping the inflation that is happening.

Within that, the first-time buyer grant is an absolute essential. One thing about relocation is that if someone has been living abroad for the last few years they do not get the first-time buyer grant. I understand that those people did not make a tax contribution, but maybe it could be revisited at this stage. Getting the diaspora back here is essential to building the infrastructure called for in rebuilding Ireland. Those people immediately become taxpayers, and if they have not contributed previously there is an opportunity for them to contribute then.

We are investing €100,000 of the money of the Construction Industry Federation, CIF, and its members in an initiative to promote the positives of construction. However, that is small fry compared to what it is going to cost to launch a campaign on TV or in cinemas. That is a positive initiative. The industry has a lot of positives. One that is never mentioned is that it is the only industry in the country that has its own compulsory pension scheme. That is a positive that we will be promoting.