It is good news that construction is edging its way back to work

This is the assessment of the Federation of Master Builders (FMB).

Its director Gavin McGuire told this newspaper that it had issued guidance on working while maintaining social distancing.

And the building firm Hagan Homes told us that it is resuming construction on eight of its construction sites.

This is all excellent news. These businesses and their industry representatives are to be congratulated on their can-do spirit, amid a deeply traumatic time for many private enterprises in the sector, which have been staring into the abyss.

Construction is a crucial part of any economy. Even in a society as small as Northern Ireland, at any one time tens of thousands of the hundreds of thousands buildings and other structures, including roads and bridges, need updating, or indeed replaced.

There is an argument to be made that construction should never have stopped, because so much of it is outdoors and because this crisis began to emerge just at the time of year when the days are getting longer and the weather all the more suited to contractors making significant progress on projects.

But a slow return to normality is better late than never. While builders tend not to be bunched in close proximity to each other, it is clear they often have to pass closely to one another on sites, so safe working is not without challenges.

But the economy is at breaking point. It emerged yesterday that 6.3 million people, perhaps a quarter of the UK workforce, has been furloughed. This is entirely unsustainable.

We should treat with suspicion, in some cases contempt, politicians whose only cry is for the government is to step forward with yet more cash, thus hastening national financial ruin.

It is much better to focus on figuring out how to help those enterprising folk who want to get back to achieving things, while protecting the well-being of their teams.