Northern Ireland’s Construction & Property Group issued a fresh warning to MLAs returning to Stormont today (1.30pm) to put their differences aside and urgently work together to save thousands of workers from losing their jobs by Christmas.
In a major step-up for its campaign, members of the group, who represent hundreds of developers, builders, contractors and suppliers left devastated by the property downturn, told Assembly members that there was little time left to act.
Construction & Property Group spokesman Brendan Cunnane said:
“This industry is in chaos.
Workers from right across Northern Ireland already have soaring fuel, food and mortgage bills to worry about and this grim fear that their jobs could disappear by the New Year is making their plight even more unbearable. It’s time to stop burying our heads in the sand and do something.
We told MLAs they have a key part to play in putting together a clear and simple action plan that will safeguard livelihoods. But we also had to tell them of our fear that the local banks will scupper this important collaborative process by not coming on board.
Given the vast levels of funding that has been provided by the banks to builders and developers until the latter part of last year their continuing reluctance to engage constructively with their customers is astonishing. One local bank has advised the group that its exposure to the residential property market is in the region of £1 billion.
It’s important that the Assembly understands just how much we need and depend on a viable, productive construction industry and I believe that by taking our fight straight to Stormont, MLAs will take our message on board.”
The Construction & Property Group said its members had already been forced to lay off more than 2,500 staff since the downturn got under way a year ago. It believes this figure will double by Christmas if efforts are not made to stabilise the market.
The Construction & Property Group was created following a series of public meetings during July, bringing together developers, builders, contractors, suppliers and others affected by the crippling downturn currently facing the residential property market.
The group constitutes a cross section of property development and construction industries across Northern Ireland and has also drawn interest from a number of professional services that supply and advise the property sector.
The organisation is urging all the major financial institutions to ensure that affordable mortgages are available, particularly to first-time buyers, and is calling for an urgent review of the Comprehensive Spending Review by the Executive to ensure social housing investment and shared equity schemes are more widely available.
