Construction shows ‘signs of recovery’

Several counties saw annual increases in the numbers of house building projects and planning applications last year, despite both being down on a national basis.

The National Housing Construction Index — published by independent planning research company, Link2Plans — shows a 5% year-on-year drop, on a nationwide scale, in planning applications and a 7% fall in project commencements.

The data covers the first 10 months of the year. While the national figures remain negative, they show a marked improvement on the first 10 months of 2012, when applications were down by 18%, year-on-year, and commencements 9%.

“When we look at the National Housing Construction Index for the same period in 2012, we can see improvements being made and although there was a continued rate of decline in 2013, the signs of recovery are clear to see,” said Danny O’Shea, managing director of Links2Plans.

The firm plans to update the index again, within the next five-to-six weeks.

Kildare, Dublin, Wicklow, Carlow, Kilkenny, and Monaghan all saw increases in planning applications versus the same period in 2012. Of the six increases, only one (Kildare) saw a double- digit percentage growth.

In terms of building commencements, Dublin bucked the trend with an 11% year-on-year increase.