Building industry facing tough times
A report from the Central Statistics Office showed that last year wages in construction grew across all sectors and the average worker was putting in more than 44 hours a week.
However, in the second quarter of this year the number of houses granted planning permission dropped 33% relative to last year, which the industry says will lead to a dearth of projects in a couple of years time.
The Irish Home Builders’ Association said that the demand for new houses was growing but planning policy was preventing the industry from meeting the current demand.
IHBA director Hubert Fitzpatrick said that the lack of land available for new developments would stifle attempts to bring the country’s housing stock up to the mark.
He said: “These figures show in clear terms that delays in the planning system, density issues and the shortage of supply of properly zoned and serviced lands is responsible for this decline in planning permissions.
“Put at its simplest, this means that the supply of homes over the next two years to three years will be significantly below what is required.”
The figures were released in tandem with statistics which show that unskilled construction workers were earning well above the average industrial wage (€766 a week) while working an average of 47 hours a week.
Peter Stafford, research and policy officer with the Construction Industry Federation, said he had difficulty with the CSO figures because they attempted to place industrial categories onto the building sites.
However, he feels that the level of pay and the amount of overtime available showed the buoyancy of the market at the moment.
He said: “There is plenty of work at the moment, order books are full and there is record housing output.
“But this is a very diverse industry and the figures are trying to make a case for everyone from roofers to civil engineers.”
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