Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The short answer is "Yes".

We have a good pipeline of graduates and apprentices. One of the decisions taken by Government and by my colleague, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage in recent weeks and months - providing certainty of funding for construction and public investment in construction for the years ahead - can provide an assurance to people looking to work in construction that there will be work, jobs and well-paid jobs in this sector not just this year or next year, but right through for the next number of years. Anybody involved in the housing debate, an honest one, will know two things: first, that the State is going to spend a lot of money on investment in housing in the coming years; and second, that there is going to be a requirement for many more people to work in the sector. I hope that sends out a message to our young - and not so young - talented people abroad that they can come back to this country and work in this sector, which is a sector, let us be honest, that was decimated during the bad years. Second, I hope it sends a message to the young 16-year-olds, 17-year-olds and 18-year-olds sitting in a classroom today or tomorrow, that all of a sudden housing, construction, retrofitting are real areas where there are well-paid jobs available now and into the future.

See this speech in context