Builders and developers who worked through the seven years of property market implosion and slump are beginning to gear up for a return to construction in cities like Dublin, Galway and Cork.

Dublin: Irish Continental Group chief executive, Eamonn Rothwell, has lowered his personal shareholding in the business to 5%, by transferring just under 2.2 million shares into Rokeby Investments, an investment firm which he owns independently.