Sharon Keogan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Some time ago I asked myself why the Government coalition of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party was subjecting the construction industry to lockdown when the UK and every other country in Europe was not. What was the scientific or medical reasoning behind this? What was the empirical evidence to support this construction lockdown? Was it clear that building sites were significant sources of transmission of Covid-19? Were a large number builders and tradespeople flooding our hospitals and intensive care units on foot of workplace-acquired infections? Given how vital construction is to every section of the economy, what a major source of employment it is, and the dire need to provide housing and infrastructure to people, I thought there must surely be cogent empirical and scientific data to support such measures.I received answers to my questions. The comprehensive answers, backed up by the HSE data, are in correspondence from the Construction Industry Federation dated 25 February, which I am sure every Senator received. It stated:

HSE evidence shows that our safety protocols effectively prevent Covid-19 from spreading on construction sites. The HSE's evidence and our track record demonstrates that industry can operate safely at full capacity ... there has only been 8 admissions to hospital of which 5 went to ICU related to construction since Sept 1, 2020.

We have a certain Fianna Fáil Senator making frivolous speeches in this House lamenting lost opportunities to "get the shift". The only lost shift I am concerned about are the ones that provide houses for people in need, shifts that build hospitals and roads, and the shifts that put bread on the table of workers and their families. I call on the Government to expedite the opening and reopening of the construction industry in this country.