New Zealand Seeks Irish Workers For Quake Rebuild

Irish construction workers are being sought by officials in New Zealand responsible for rebuilding the parts of Christchurch devastated by three major earthquakes over the past year.

181 people were killed when a 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck the country's second biggest city in February of this year.

Thousands of buildings had been damaged by a stronger 7.2 tremor last September.

A third earthquake caused further damage in June.

The Earthquake Commission of New Zealand (EQC) announced at the weekend that around 100,000 homes need repairs and up to 8,000 laborers would be needed to complete the reconstruction work.

The head of the commission Ian Simpson said he wants to recruit Irish construction workers in some of those jobs.

"We know there are similar workers - English speaking, large unemployment rate of skilled workers, so we can bring those in when we need them," he said at a media briefing in Christchurch over the weekend.

He said "initial approaches" had been made in Ireland.

A number of job vacancies in Christchurch have been advertised on the Irish website www.constructionjobs.ie over the weekend.

The Earthquake Reconstruction Project is looking for project managers for residential and commercial properties, offering a salary of between €40,000 and €60,000.

Qualified carpenters/builders are also being sought on a salary of about €30,000.

The rebuilding effort on New Zealand's south island is already underway.

Mr Simpson said repairs have already been carried out on 22,000 homes to keep them watertight and secure.

But much of the city remains in ruins and some suburbs are uninhabitable. City officials last week launched a blueprint to rebuild the city.

Ireland's Construction Industry Federation welcomed the news, but warned there was a continuing crisis in the Irish property sector.

Director Tom Parlon expressed concern that the industry will lose more skilled Irish workers to emigration.

An index showed activity in the construction sector in Ireland reached its 50th month of continuous decline in July.