Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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The timeline for the statutory register is clear in the Bill but it does not address the question both Deputy Cian O'Callaghan and I are raising as to why a parallel skills register would not enhance what is being proposed in the Bill and would not be good for the industry overall. The idea of a skills register is that it makes clear what the skills requirements are, and the register will be public and transparent, which is helpful both for employers and for contracting parties, whether they are large contractors, public agencies or individuals getting various kinds of construction work done.

My understanding is that within the construction sector working group, located in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and including representation from the Minister of State's Department, this is a matter under discussion. While we did not expect him to warmly embrace our amendments, I would be somewhat comforted if he could give some indication as to whether the Department, in conjunction with the relevant other Departments through the construction sector working group, is actively considering such a skills register. Is it something that is in the pipeline, to the Minister of State’s knowledge? The industry needs such a register, and creating it in parallel with the construction industry register would be complementary and would strengthen it. I will not ask him to reiterate what he said about the amendments, given I acknowledge he will not accept them, but is anything else going on in the background with respect to this issue that he can share with us?