Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

I share the Taoiseach's wish that there will be a soft landing, as has been referred to, and that we will not see grief. There have been indications for some time that we are moving towards a significant reduction in house construction activity. The Taoiseach referred to the lending practices of the banks, which have been in place for building land for some time. Indications have also come from the drop in the number of planning applications.

I appreciate that on the refurbishment side, planning applications are not required. Are there indications or is information available on whether there is an increase in planning applications for office buildings, shopping centres and the type of construction activity the Taoiseach hopes will pick up at least some of the slack if there is a downturn in construction activity on the residential side? To my knowledge there has not been a significant increase in planning applications on that side of the equation.

My basic question is whether the Government has a contingency plan. The construction industry has been a major part of the economy, with one in eight people working in it. If there is to be a downturn, albeit with a soft landing, what is the game plan, or is there one? I would have thought this was the type of subject on which the cross-departmental team would have been coming up with answers.

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