Proinsias De Rossa
Ceist:119 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government if he will make a statement on his recently published action plan to expand capacity of the construction industry. [19712/01]
Written Answers. - Construction Industry.
The Government's action plan to expand the capacity of the construction industry was published on 5 June 2001 and is available in the Oireachtas Library, together with a covering statement from the Minister for the Environment and Local Government.
The action plan sets out a total of more than 50 supply-side measures to expand the capacity of the construction sector in four key areas: increasing the supply of skilled manpower at all levels in the industry; promoting the introduction of innovative building materials, products and systems to improve the efficiency of the construction process; improving the planning and regulatory environment; and supplementing domestic capacity from abroad.
The fundamental purpose of the action plan is to ensure adequate construction industry capacity both to implement the National Development Plan 2001-2006 and to support other economic and social investment needs of the country. The plan is intended to be implemented by a range of public agencies, as well as the social partners, and will be monitored by my Department on a regular basis. I am confident that its measures are timely, appropriate and deliverable.