Construction sector slows in Northern Ireland amid budget wrangle

Political wrangles over the North's budget derailed construction sector recovery at the end of 2014 as building was halted on public facilities like schools, hospitals and roads, a leading industry body has revealed.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said that, although local firms overall reported an increase in business activity during the last three months of the year, it was all driven by contracts they had won outside of Northern Ireland.

The latest RICS and Tughans construction market survey shows that the North was the only part of the UK where surveyors reported a decline in infrastructure workloads.

"The reality is that the growth is coming from work they are doing outside of Northern Ireland, notably Great Britain, where a number of local firms have been increasingly focused. Activity within Northern Ireland itself remains depressed, and the decline in infrastructure activity will only widen this gap between the local and GB markets," said Ben Collins, RICS Northern Ireland director.

He said that while the RICS understood that public budgets were stretched, it was also important that politicians recognised the significance of investing in infrastructure and prioritised the financing of capital expenditure where possible.

Mr Collins added: There are alternative methods of finance that should be considered. Research supports Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) for instance as an additional viable solution.

Michael McCord, construction partner with Belfast based Tughans Solicitors, said the buoyancy of the British construction scene was a positive indicator for local firms operating in that sector.

Mr McCord added: “The picture within Northern Ireland itself is somewhat more subdued, with public spending constraints a concern and likely to impact further on infrastructure workloads here.

“Companies will no doubt be continuing to focus on work external to Northern Ireland as well as closely watching for a recovery in house building locally, as the housing market recovery looks set to continue.”