Rise in number of houses being built

New figures show a sharp rise in the number of houses being built in January — but a fall in the number being completed.

The Construction Industry Federation figures show 342 houses were started during the first month of the year, compared to 220 in Jan 2012.

Twelve local authority areas have witnessed an increase in housing starts, among them Dún Laoghaire Rathdown, Fingal, Galway County, Carlow, Meath, and Wicklow.