Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

The Taoiseach tried this morning to imply a lack of support by Sinn Féin for the construction sector, because we pointed out the serious dependence the Government has had on this sector for the economic activity of the State in the past decade. I described this as codology and stated that it was an indication that the Taoiseach had no contribution to make when he was resorting to such nonsense.

For the Taoiseach's benefit and for the benefit of others, let me spell it out again. The basis for sustainable growth was laid by Irish workers in the 1990s. Fianna Fáil-led Governments from 1997 had the resources to invest in sound infrastructure, to develop public services that were both equitable and efficient, to foster industry that provided employment and raised revenue through exports, and to create an enhanced society as well as a prosperous economy. Instead, these Governments saw a growing economy and they decided with their friends, the developers, the speculators and the bankers, to reap the rewards through ruthlessly exploiting the increased demand for housing and commercial property. They created a massive property bubble and a perilous over-dependence on construction for employment. Now the bubble has burst.

Construction employment has collapsed and so has Government revenue. Families are mortgaged beyond their means and many are losing their homes. Negative equity is rife and the full consequences for individuals, families, companies and financial institutions have yet to be seen. All of this was predictable. We in Sinn Féin were among those constantly highlighting the folly and the injustice of Government economic policy. We identified clearly how the economy was allowed to become grossly over-dependent on the construction sector, accounting for over 20% of the State's GDP and employing one in every eight workers at its peak. An over-inflated construction sector masked a steady flow of job losses, particularly in provincial towns.

The Government failed to accept that the over-reliance on the construction sector was not sustainable and could not continue indefinitely. Consequently, it failed to put in place a strategy to deal with the anticipated contraction of the construction sector or the needs of those dependent on that sector for their employment. An estimated 30,000 construction workers have lost their jobs to date in 2008, and I believe the real figure is significantly greater. The lack of alternative employment is resulting in workers who lost their jobs emigrating in search of work. The Government still has not brought forward a strategy to get these workers back in employment or in training. It has allowed the social security entitlements of many construction workers to be undermined by failing to take action as unscrupulous employers coerced workers into registering as self-employed. There is ample evidence that this was the case. Of those who lost their jobs in the construction sector in the year to the end of June, 50.3% were under the age of 25, while 23% of those under 25 still employed in the construction sector at the end of June did not have a leaving certificate qualification.

The collapse in construction is a critical factor in the current recession which has spawned this regressive Bill. Rather than simply criticise the Bill and the budget, Sinn Féin has put forward progressive proposals for recovery. These proposals are based on the need to make sure that a controlled reduction in dependency on the construction sector includes measures to ensure continued employment opportunities in construction, as well as measures to enable workers from this sector to access alternative employment. To increase our competitiveness and to aid economic recovery, the Government should front-load infrastructure projects that can employ workers from the construction sector, in areas such as transport, schools, crèches, hospitals and primary care development. There is much to be done in those areas.

In particular, we want to see a State housing infrastructure plan, designed to address both housing need and unemployment in the construction sector. This would include the following: the construction of the required social housing by local authorities on a targeted basis over five years; the completion of currently stalled regeneration projects in local authority housing estates and complexes; a programme of upgrading of local authority dwellings, with special emphasis on housing for older people; a social housing maintenance programme, equipping local authorities to ensure that their housing stock is kept in good repair; a home heating programme to ensure that local authority tenants, especially older people, have sufficient and energy efficient heating in their homes; a home insulation programme to conserve energy and reduce energy costs for householders; and a home adaptation programme to carry out essential works to adapt homes for the use of people with disabilities, in tandem with reform of the disabled person's housing grant.

Specific training and upskilling courses for alternative industries to construction should be made available through FÁS and the State's universities and institutes of technology. We need to see special retraining for construction workers so they can work in the energy saving and renewable energy sectors. The Government should introduce a specific back-to-education scheme for construction sector workers under the age of 25 who did not complete second-level education.

Measures to allow apprentices to complete apprenticeships that were curtailed due to the recession in the construction sector should also be introduced. The Government should use either this Finance Bill or the social welfare Bill to address the predicament of construction sector workers who were pushed into becoming self-employed by their employers and who consequently do not have adequate social insurance contributions to allow them to access social welfare entitlements. Their contributions for the past five years should be considered, rather than the normal governing contribution period of two years.

The debate on the banks has not focused on the situation faced by hard pressed mortgage holders who have lost their jobs. There should be a mortgage support package for such families. The Minister still has time to address their needs on Committee Stage of this Finance Bill and I urge that he do so.

These are just some measures that could help regress growing unemployment and begin to revive the economy. We placed them in the form of a motion in the name of Sinn Féin Deputies on the Order Paper yesterday. The Finance Bill before us, in contrast, is devoid of any strategy to get our economy out of recession. There is also an air of unreality about the Bill, in that the near-collapse of the banking system is not addressed. The Government guarantee scheme for the banks is fundamentally flawed and provides scant protection for taxpayers. Are we soon to see the international corporate vultures allowed in to feast on the Irish banks or are they to be recapitalised by the State at the expense of more cutbacks in vital public services? There are other choices and we have outlined some of them.

This is a regressive Bill. There is nothing in it to help struggling small and medium businesses which are starved of capital. In contrast, the Bill retains tax breaks for the burgeoning private health industry which is profiting at the expense of the public health system. I urge Deputies to reject the Finance Bill at every stage, including here tonight when the Second Stage guillotine is applied by the Government parties. I must indicate, with some regret, that we do not have a Finance Bill before us that truly measures up to the challenges of today's times and Sinn Féin will be rejecting this Bill accordingly.

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