Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)

It is one of the areas in which the economy is doing well. We must ensure our approach is successful in stimulating greater demand and facilitating the creation of jobs.

We have done our best, as part of the initiative, to introduce new funding on the construction side. We will not get back to the numbers employed in the industry at the height of the boom, but I agree that we must work to stimulate employment in the sector. I have made the point recently that there are some 4,000 vacant housing units in Dublin, of which 85% are apartments. If the economy were to turn quickly, we would be faced with a huge housing shortage.