16th December 2010 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The announcement of £16 million investment in retrofitting thousands of homes across Northern Ireland is a boost badly needed by small construction businesses, says the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) Northern Ireland in response to the draft budget.
The budget speech by the Minister for Finance and Personnel includes funding of £4 million for the Green New Deal each year for the next four years. This commitment by the Northern Ireland Executive has the potential to create immediate job opportunities and result in significant environmental benefits.
Maire Nawaz, Director of FMB Northern Ireland said:
“The FMB is supporting proposals for a Green New Deal in Northern Ireland as many construction firms, especially the smaller ones, are going through an incredibly tough time. The workloads of small and medium sized construction firms are currently declining every quarter and we know from the FMB’s State of Trade Survey that firms in Northern Ireland are suffering more than anywhere else in the UK. The Green New Deal aims to meet the low carbon challenge while also helping to bring about growth in jobs and the economy.”
Nawaz continued:
"The announcement that the Northern Ireland Executive will help pay for a large scale energy efficiency retrofit programme signals a welcome acknowledgement of the need to invest in the economic recovery. The money from the Executive and that raised by additional private investment must now go towards filling the order books of builders that can help to lower carbon emissions from the Province’s homes and buildings, and lift more people out of fuel poverty.”
