Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

Because we took away the work permit requirement for citizens of the European Union and particularly those from the new accession states, there is not a ready-made database with information on the people coming in. It means one has to go through CSO statistics or locally based assessments of what is happening in terms of where people are living and so on. The Deputy is correct. The economic growth rates we are likely to experience to the end of the decade mean growth in the economy of around 5.5% on average as well as growth in the labour force. The CSO is saying that the labour force will continue to grow from 1.9 million, for example, at 2004 levels, to about 2.4 million in 2016. That is a very significant increase, which basically impacts on infrastructure, housing, utilities and a range of issues, including education, health etc.

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