The Construction Industry Federation has urged the government to allow it to continue to operate, even if the economy moves to Level 5 Covid-19 restrictions.
In a statement issued this afternoon, the CIF said that any move to level 4 or 5 should be accompanied by a clear indication that construction can remain operational "where it is safe to do so".
"Ambiguity in the past has seen the industry have to cease operations due to safety, contractual and logistical concerns. As we try to rebuild our economy, this would be in nobody's interest," the CIF said.
The construction lobby group insisted that the industry had demonstrated that it could operate close to capacity "... safely and in a way that protects employees, their families and the wider community."
"Currently across the 1,100 sites, 57,000 enterprise and 147,000 employees, adherence to the CIF's standard operating procedure has been almost total resulting a negligible level of incidence on sites," the CIF stated.
It noted that each week, the construction industry was generating much-needed revenue for the exchequer, as well as providing employment for hundreds of thousands of people - and stressed that CIF members and their employees were then spending wages and profits within the economy.
It also stated that construction activity meant that houses, hospitals, specialist buildings and other infrastructure that make the economy competitive and attractive to foreign direct investment continue to be built.
