The Fine Gael leader, Mr Michael Noonan, last night promised to restore interest relief on borrowings for the provision of rented accommodation if his party was returned to government.
Amid warnings that the construction industry faces a severe downturn due to a cooling property market, Mr Noonan said as taoiseach he would also scrap the 9 per cent rate of stamp duty by reducing the maximum rate to 6 per cent on houses valued up to £500,000 and remove the two-year limit on planning permission and restore the previous five-year limit.
He was addressing the annual dinner of Master Builders and Contractors' Association (MBCA) in Dublin.
The housing sector had "been virtually brought to its knees" by the Government's well-intentioned but ill-judged attempts to address overheating in the property market, Mr Noonan said. "It has also suffered most recently as a consequence of the general downturn in the economy."
The MBCA president, Mr Ian Hagan, said unless the Government significantly increased capital spending on the National Development Plan the number of jobs in the construction industry could fall by up to 20,000 next year.
SIPTU construction branch secretary Mr Eric Fleming said yesterday the MBCA figure for job losses was too high.
"But I do agree that if the National Development Plan does not go ahead thousands of building workers will lose their jobs. Delays in the plan would also lead to the break-up of the labour infrastructure. It is very hard to rebuild good work teams."
The fall-off in production in recent weeks has already seen large lay-offs, particularly by house builders. The most vulnerable group in the workforce is agency workers, many of them immigrants. Mr Fleming estimates that 15 per cent of his members are agency workers, some from as far away as China.
Meanwhile, in a major move to improve relations in an industry bedevilled with disputes, the building unions have agreed a package with the Construction Industry Federation to improve conditions for agency employees.
An independent regulator will be appointed to monitor conditions for agency workers and ensure they receive the full pay rates and conditions set in the Registered Employment Agreement for the industry.
Agency workers who are casual employees will be entitled to a minimum of three days' work on a site and cannot be let go before Friday of the week hired. The new agreement also ensures they receive the same meal breaks, safety equipment and holiday pay.
"After two years of negotiation this represents a major breakthrough for the industry," Mr Fleming said.