On the construction side, it is always interesting to listen to the inconsistencies. When we were building 80,000 houses and everybody in construction was getting enormous salaries — the highest in Europe — the developers and construction people were all bad news around here. Now when it tightens up a bit everybody looks to the construction industry to pick it up. The Government has continued and will continue through the national development plan to put large amounts of money — approximately €6 billion over the next few years — into areas to improve our roads, transport infrastructure, sewerage and drainage, and continue to develop the country into a modern country. That is necessary. We have always recognised that employment in construction is important and we will continue to do that in the period ahead.

Regarding what Mr. Parlon, representing the CIF, said yesterday, negotiations on the social partnership in this round have started. Everybody is putting down their views. I do not believe in any area we should be organising to have races to the bottom. I do not think that is a good idea for any sector, but I understand negotiating positions are put forward by everybody. Some wanted a race to the top. As the Deputy has said, there are redundancies. Unemployment this year will increase. There is no doubt about that. To go from building 80,000 houses to 55,000 houses cannot require the same number of workers. Predominantly it is in construction and in some of the service industries linked to construction. So unemployment will drift up.

As far as the European forecast is concerned, it is not the case that people are putting doom and gloom about regarding the country. There are difficulties to manage in a more difficult climate, but the European Commission has delivered a very good assessment of the Irish economy. It has stated that what we are doing in the stability and growth process is a good improvement for us at a more difficult time. It stated its assessment represents a reasonable and broadly balanced view of the economy. It acknowledges the overall strength of our public finances. It acknowledges that we have a debt to GDP ratio which is very low. Deputy Kenny was saying it was the worst ever. At 26% and if one nets off, as one would under rules of accounting, the national debt, we have the lowest national debt in the European Union, maybe apart from Luxembourg which has never had any.

All of the indications from the European Commission are that we have a dynamic and well-educated workforce, that we are responsive to changing needs, and that our markets for goods, services and labour are flexible by international standards. In most of those areas we are increasing. We have effectively a regulated pro-enterprise society. Our burden of taxation is low, and productivity and inward investment is good. Yes, it is difficult for the reasons I said at the outset. We will have to manage it in a more difficult year and revenues will be down in a more difficult year, but manage it we will. Whatever we have to do we will do during the course of the year to keep this country and the economy strong and keep employment as strong as we can.

If the Government were as good at managing the health service and at resourcing it as it is at providing tax breaks for those who want to invest in it, we would not have as many people presenting with and dying from cancer in the first place. The Taoiseach does not need to remind us of how close he is to the building industry — he is too close.

Regarding the fall in employment in construction, it is estimated that approximately 60,000 building workers will lose their jobs in residential construction over the course of the year and that approximately 40,000 of those will be absorbed back into construction activity in the type of construction the Taoiseach described on NDP projects. That will leave a net of approximately 20,000 building workers who will be out of work at the end of the year. What is the plan for those 20,000 workers? Is there a plan for retraining and re-education to allow them to re-enter the economy in some other way? That is the question they and their families want answered. They do not need a lecture from the Taoiseach on the various European assessments of the economy. They want to know where they will get a job next year after they are told to leave the building site. What is the future for those 20,000 building workers who will be out of work by the end of this year? Is there a plan to retrain them? Is there a plan for their re-absorption into the economy? Is there a plan for job opportunities or business opportunities for those people so that they can look forward to a future in employment and in work rather than on the dole?

It was for that reason that we decided to up the capital programme last year so that other construction projects away from the residential market would have the fiscal impetus, which was putting vast amounts of resources into other areas to keep it strong. The other areas are holding up very well, whether it is retail, commercial or infrastructural development. The one that is down is the construction industry. If we go from building 80,000 houses to 55,000, we cannot have the same number of workers in construction.

Of course, but what is the Government going to do with them?

Brussels sprouts for the Minister of State, Deputy Trevor Sargent.

We are going to get unemployment. FÁS and the other agencies have already put in place integrated support services for those made redundant and those who might lose their jobs in the construction sector. When we saw this coming a year ago we moved on that. It involves information sessions, skills analysis, training, retraining and courses in job replacement. In delivering those services, FÁS has been working with Enterprise Ireland, the IDA, and city and county enterprise boards. All that is already in place. Over the next few years, the Government has earmarked over €7.7 billion in public funds to support training and skills development in order to maintain as many people as possible in various sectors.

Last year, a forecast published by FÁS and the ESRI predicted that 90,000 to 100,000 skilled building workers would be employed by 2012 compared to 85,000 in 2005, so it is not the case that such people will not be needed. All the indications from FÁS and the ESRI show that all of those will be required, although they may move around to different sectors. Over the past three years, we have seen an increase in the number of non-Irish involved in these sectors. A large proportion of those are mobile and we can see what is happening in that respect with a number moving to London to work on contracts in preparation for the Olympic Games there in 2012. That will continue to occur as our construction industry moves around to fulfil contracts, so the market economy will not change.

Yesterday's figures showed a downturn in construction and related areas, particularly regarding capital gains tax which fell quite sharply. This means that in the final quarter of last year development deals in this country dropped fairly dramatically, by probably close to 40%. We must ensure that we can keep other areas of the economy growing as strongly as we can. There is no doubt that will create budgetary difficulties for us. With less revenues as the year goes on, it will create a tighter position which we will have to manage. In the interests of keeping the economy strong in the medium and longer term, we will have to do that. It is the right thing to do regardless of how difficult it is.