Irish construction output third-worst in EU, says CSO

IRELAND suffered the third-biggest drop in construction output in Europe over the past 12 months, according to new figures from the Central Statistics Office.

Construction production dropped by 34% between the first quarter of 2009 and the first quarter of this year. That compared with an average fall of just 7.3% in the EU 15 countries and 7.8% in the EU 27 region.

Only Latvia (43.4%) and Lithuania (42.9%) saw bigger collapses in their construction sector.