CIF: 70,000 could lose jobs next year

Up to 70,000 people could lose their jobs next year unless the Budget provides help for the struggling building sector, according to the Construction Industry Federation (CIF).

The organisation says 50,000 of those jobs will be lost in residential construction, while a further 20,000 will go in the commercial property sector.

CIF president Hank Fogarty has called on the Government to continue investing in the National Development Plan despite the recession.

He said the alternative of doing nothing is not an option.

"The Government can either sit back and let it happen or they can intervene in the construction industry and provide work for the highly-skilled army of people which our industry has built up over the last 10 years," he said.