The Director General of the Construction Industry Federation has warned that Ireland will lose out on thousands of homes being built this year because of the construction shutdown over the last few months.
Speaking to RTÉ's This Week programme, Tom Parlon said with sites closed down for 13 or 14 weeks it could mean a loss of 10,000 houses as it is "going to be slower" to get back up and running. "That is five or six thousand couples who had secured mortgages.
That has all been put on ice," Mr Parlon. Mr Parlon appealed to the Government to let the industry know about a possible reopening before 5 April, as he said the uncertainty has resulted in some people leaving the country to find work elsewhere.