Some 10,000 Irish road builders may be facing the dole queues.

According to the Civil Engineering Contractors Association, the Government is abandoning commitments made in its public capital programme and the National Development Plan.

Speaking on Monday, the association's President Pat McCarthy said the Government's capital expenditure, which accounts for major road investments, is being curtailed to that required by existing contractual commitments, and projects required for an ongoing programme are not being started.

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"While the Government is insisting they will continue with investment in the order of €6 billion per year over the next six years, there is absolutely no evidence on the ground that this is happening," said Mr McCarthy.

"All of these projects will be complete by the middle of 2010," he said. "After that the workers will be unemployed and the plant and machinery will be moved to Eastern Europe. Our highly skilled and highly paid workers and professionals will be lost to the industry and to the Irish economy."

The announcement comes just as it was revealed that Europe’s economy lost a record 1.22 million jobs in the first quarter this year.

The first-quarter drop was the biggest decline since 1995. Even as indications mount that the worst of the recession may be over, unemployment is near a 10-year high and forecast to rise more as industries from auto makers to airlines reduce output and staffing to weather the economic crisis.

(DW/BMcC)