The increase in capital spending "marks a turning of the public spending tide for the construction sector", according to the Construction Industry Federation (CIF).

The Government has announced €2.2 billion will be provided for social housing over the next 3 years, including €1.5 billion coming directly from the Exchequer. The overall capital spending budget will also increase for the first time since the austerity budgets began, with additional funding for schools also announced.

Since the first austerity budget in 2009, capital spending has fallen year on year, dropping to €3.34 billion in the 2014 Budget. That represents a drop of €4.89 billion over the past 5 years from the €8.23 billion for capital spending that was provided in the 2009 budget.

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"The increase in capital spending is very important to the construction industry," said CIF Director General Tom Parlon. "You have to understand that previously public spending represented about 50% of the activity in the sector. So the massive cuts in capital spending really hit the industry hard and added significantly to the increase in construction job losses.

"Every year we have seen the capital Budget take another hit. Thankfully this Budget changes that and marks a turning of the public spending tide for the construction sector. What's important isn't just that the funding has been increased, but that it has been set aside for construction related projects.

"The funding that has been provided for social housing is deeply significant. It will provide a huge amount of work for the industry and that will create thousands of jobs. The Government is to be congratulated for adopting this measure. The next step is to get the details of these projects so that Irish construction companies can start making the necessary preparations."