Fine Gael TD for Wexford, Minister Paul Kehoe, has welcomed recent figures which show an increase of 18.5% in the number of jobs in the construction sector since this time last year.
“The latest CSO figures show that 126,000 people are now employed in the construction sector, that’s an increase of almost 20,000 in twelve months. These are national figures but the jobs are distributed across the country, including here in Wexford.
“The construction sector suffered a massive decline when the economy collapsed in 2008. At that time, 280,000 people were employed in the sector and this dropped to below 100,000 by 2012. A healthy economy must have a vibrant and sustainable construction sector.
“The Minister for Housing, Planning and Construction, Paudie Coffey, published the Construction 2020 strategy last year and one of the key actions in that strategy was the addition of 60,000 jobs in the sector by 2020 and to increase housing supply to meet demand. These employment figures clearly indicate that very good progress is being made towards achieving these goals.
“The number of houses being built is increasing and we know that far more building is planned as the number of commencement notices has more than doubled when compared to 2014. The number of planning permissions in the first quarter of 2015 has increased by 97% when compared to the same period in 2014.
“In Wexford we have many highly skilled construction workers who for too many years have struggled to find work. We have also lost many to emigration due to the property fuelled bubble propped up by the previous Government. Now we are starting to see growth again in this area and opportunities for Wexford workers.
“I am confident that there is plenty of room for the construction sector in Wexford to grow, but we must do this in a sensible way. We must guard against returning to the boom and bust model that failed the Irish people in the past by implementing Construction 2020 and closely monitoring developments in the construction sector.”
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