THE GOVERNMENT should prevent up to 7,000 building workers being put on the dole from January next by extending the deadline for completion of grant-aided farm work beyond December 31st, it was claimed yesterday.
John Maguire, secretary of the Irish Concrete Federation said it was illogical to allow this happen. "If the work has to be finished by the end of the year then between 5,000 and 7,000 workers will be put on the dole," he said.
"It would be far cheaper and of much more benefit to the exchequer to extend the time allowed for work to be completed than to put people out of work."
His organisation joined the Irish Farm Building Contractors' Association and the Irish Farmers' Association at a press conference yesterday to seek an extension of the time allowed to complete the work worth €1.5 billion to the rural economy.
The chairman of the Irish Farm Building Contractors' Association, Bill McEvoy, said that even with the best will in the world, his members would be unable to complete all the work approved by the end of this year.
He said approvals for work being carried out under the Farm Waste Management Scheme, but it was not until 2007 that the work on the farms really got going having been delayed by planning applications and other factors.
"We are not looking for a change in the conditions but because of weather, health and safety and other factors, we want an extension of the deadline for completion of work to allow all farmers approved under the scheme to complete the work."
Mr McEvoy estimated that if this leeway was given, the amount of work involved would keep the sector going until September next year and lessen the job loss impact of the slowdown in the other sectors of the construction industry.
IFA president Padraig Walshe said 20,000 farmers had yet to finish work under the scheme which pays grants of between 40-60 per cent.
"We are not looking for changes either, just an extension of the time limit to finish off, because there are at least 8,000 farmers who have been approved but have not yet started work," he said.
The IFA said 46,132 farmers had applied for the nationally funded scheme; 10,500 of these had already finished their work and had been paid €296 million and 20,000 were currently doing work.
Last night the department said the end-of-year deadline was a condition of EU approval of the scheme and could not be changed.