The Irish Congress of Trade Unions and the Construction Industry Federation (CIF) have launched a bid to use pension funds to invest in major civil engineering and infrastructure projects.

In a joint statement released at the end of March, the Congress and the CIF said that with no major projects in the pipeline they are worried Ireland could see "serious depletion of our skills base" if no work is available to construction professionals.

The two groups have jointly requested Pension Fund Trustees to invest in new Construction Bonds to kick start the construction industry back into full tilt.

According to Congress Official Fergus Whelan, the new Construction Bonds "could be used to finance such projects as the new university at Grange Gorman, new schools and hospitals, and perhaps even the O'Deveny Gardens renewal project that was abandoned last year".

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Speaking today, Mr Whelan said: "Most major projects - Dublin's conference centre, the new terminal at Dublin Airport and the AVIA stadium - are either completed or close to completion. This means the skilled designers and workers who have produced these world class projects will soon be on the dole and many will be forced to emigrate. We could see a serious depletion of our skills base, which would then hamper our capacity to recover."

Congress and the CIF are hosting a conference on the initiative on March 29 in Croke Park. The scheme, known as 'Putting Pensions to Work' will hear from pension experts, fund managers trustees, civil engineering companies and financial experts on how the joint initiative would work. An official from the Department of Finance will also outline Government thinking on the proposal.

Mr Whelan - who sits on the Pensions Board - said Irish Pension funds hold some €70 billion in assets and much of it is invested overseas and that returns had been very poor in recent years. He said investment in the Construction Bonds "makes perfect sense, in these circumstances, especially when Pension Fund Trustees are looking to transfer out of volatile equities into suitable bonds which are more dependable in terms of certainty of return.

"Most countries in European have unveiled a stimulus package aimed at keeping their construction industries from this kind of economic meltdown. It is clear that the Irish government will not follow suit," he added.

(DW/BMcC)