Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Construction Contracts Bill is an important one and being brought through the House by the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Hayes. I understand it is due to go through Committee Stage. I can get the Deputy more information on when it is due to be brought before the House. I would like to see it enacted as quickly as possible, as it is important for subcontractors.

As I said earlier regarding training programmes, we are working with the Department of Social Protection to ensure people who already have skills and are on the unemployment register, people who are waiting to complete their apprenticeships and people who are in need of employment, particularly young people, will be in a position to have their names put forward for consideration by those who wish to participate in the programme. We are working closely with the local employment offices to achieve this. This is a €4.7 billion project, the largest since the ESB was established. One will not get answers immediately as it will require a great deal of work. It has taken one and a half years to get to this stage. However, we are now in a position where all the processes are in place and we are ready to roll them out.

In response to Deputy Joe Higgins, the top-of-the-head figure of €1,000 per household is ridiculous.

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