Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Senator Mullins commented on Construction 2020, an exciting scheme which the Government announced yesterday. The strategy is about helping families to find affordable quality homes and getting highly-skilled construction workers back on-site. It is not about a return to the non-existent regulation and developer-driven agenda and the dangerously unbalanced tax base we have seen in the past. It is about getting people back to work and providing affordable quality homes for people who need them. The sooner we can move on to that and build the number of houses that are necessary, the better. The central aim of the strategy is to provide homes for people, tripling housing output by 2020 and adding 60,000 jobs to the construction sector in the same period. As we know, the construction sector has been hit more than any other sectors where unemployment is concerned. I note Senator Mullins's points in respect of the release of an Irish citizen in Egypt. The Department of Foreign affairs and Trade is fully aware of the situation. It has made representations and I imagine it will continue to do so in that case.