Vol. 545 No. 4
303 Mr. Neville asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government if he will take action to reverse the increase in unemployment of construction workers in the Limerick area and nationally; and his views on the submission from a person (details supplied) in County Limerick. [30833/01]
My Department's annual review of the construction industry Review 2000: Outlook 2001-2003, which was published recently shows that the volume of building output grew by 6% and reached a value of almost £14 billion in 2000; the growth in the volume of building output will moderate to almost 3% in 2001 and will reach a record value of over £15 billion in value by the end of this year; that continued growth in building output is projected at 3% in both 2002 and 2003; and building unemployment remains low – 3.6%.
The numbers employed in construction have also increased significantly with the total numbers employed in construction up by 66% in the period 1996 to 2000. There were almost 166,000 employed in the sector at the end of 2000, with over half of these employed in the housebuilding sector. There has been a high volume of construction activity under the national development plan. Major NDP funded projects currently under way in the Limerick area include the Limerick main drainage project and the phase one of the Limerick southern ring road.
