'Everyone has to pull together': Former Cork hurler on the challenges facing construction sector

Cork's Garvan McCarthy celebrates his goal in the Cork vs WaterfordMunster Hurling Final in 2004/ Picture: ©Inpho/Patrick Bolger

With the last recession wiping out a generation of would-be carpenters, plumbers and other tradespeople, the fear is palpable among those in the construction industry that Covid-19 restrictions could toll the bell for another round of careers.

This culling would be doubly devastating for the industry, they say, because the impact of 2008 and its aftermath thinned the talent coming through, leaving a shortage of tradespeople in key areas.