Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I speak a lot to employers, particularly in the Dublin region, many of which are employing significant numbers of people. These include employers coming to Ireland with major investments. I would say the same is true in Cork, Limerick and Galway. Employers are now deeply concerned that the people they hope to recruit will not be able to afford to rent and, if they are Irish, they will in practice be unable to buy for a very long period. This is because we are now again in the grip of rampant speculation in land values. I can understand that, ideologically, it is unacceptable to Fine Gael to seek to control and tax rampant speculation in land prices. I am glad the Minister has said that by next year we will have more apprentices in construction. Currently and notwithstanding all the efforts I made, there are only approximately 2,000 construction apprentices.

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