A RECENT crane count conducted by the Construction Industry Federation showed that Cork had 12 cranes compared to Dublin’s 123. That may seem to be a crude measure of economic activity, yet it demonstrates the regional divide.

A working couple who are first-time buyers would need to earn between €100,000 and €125,000 to afford a new two-bed apartment in a city, with the affordability gap, and housing shortage, threatening economic and employment growth.

The Government has been accused of failing to deliver key infrastructure projects to the south of the country as the long-awaited €100m upgrade of the Dunkettle interchange has been stalled again due to spiralling costs.

The Construction Industry Federation (CIF) has warned that delays in infrastructure projects in the south of the country will have repercussions for Ireland's economy.

The construction industry has called on the State’s environmental watchdog to reclassify for recycling and reuse the same kind of demolition rubble which is at the centre of enforcement action on a strategic site in Cork city.

The difficulties for small housebuilders to secure finance outside of Dublin could “derail” the Government’s housing strategy, the Cork branch of the Construction Industry Federation (CIF) has said, writes Pádraig Hoare.

The Dublin region is gobbling up too much of the €6.1bn the Government is currently spending on major capital projects at the expense of economic activity in other regions, according to the business group for the construction industry.

It’s the big spring clean — figures show that Irish homeowners have availed of €1.2bn through the Home Renovation Incentive to fund home improvement projects over the last three years.

The development of Cork and the southern region is being held back by the failure to start essential infrastructural projects, according to the Construction Industry Federation.

Construction began on just 658 new homes in the first nine months of this year in Cork city and county, even though the region requires 2,500 units annually to meet demand.

The Government’s upcoming capital investment programme must provide for a number of regionally and nationally important infrastructure projects in Cork over the coming years.

Colette Sheridan reveals why you just can’t be late for East Cork’s Early Music Festival.

THEY had been warned that public swimming pools are nearly always loss-makers, but that did not stop Killarney town councillors from proceeding with a €16 million sports complex, including a 25-metre pool, in 2005.

TOWN councillors in Killarney are to have their income and expenses published “to take the mystery” out of what elected representatives get for their services.

CONSTRUCTION chiefs have accused the Government of rowing back on promises for development in the mid-west, saying there will be “huge implications” for jobs and tourism.

THE Irish building boom is bypassing Limerick city, latest figures show.

ONE of the country’s largest trade unions says it is preparing to bring six Waterford-based firms before the Labour Court for alleged exploitation of foreign workers in the construction sector.

THE number of planning permissions granted for houses and apartments rose by 26% in the past year, according to new figures from the Central Statistics Office.