Galway builders adapt to new construction environment

Galway-based builders O’Malley Construction Company would be regarded as a bellwether for the new housing market on both sides of the country. It felt the 2007 downturn “quicker than most”, according to one of its directors, David Casserly. “We had 250 to 300 direct employees and we reduced this to 10,” Mr Casserly said.

“We were able to keep a core group of subcontractors working with us. Naturally, there wasn’t a lot of house purchasing during the recession years, but we had property and we had sites which were of interest to housing agencies.”

The company, which was formed in 1971, hired 50 people to work on one of its developments in Galway three months ago, prompting the Connacht Tribune to report "the boom is back".

At the time, 24 apartments in its Réileán development near Oranmore had already been sold off the plans, as had a number of houses. Purchasers already had mortgages approved, the company said.

The demand was coming mainly from young families but also from people who had retired and were downsizing.

“The starter home market has been hard since it became so difficult to secure mortgages,” Mr Casserly said. “Our product is more mid-range, so we knew we were dealing with people who are trading up or down.”

The company has just finished one development on the city's west side and is working on several more in the Oranmore/Roscam area, and in Clonskeagh, Dublin.

Demand in the past year to 18 months has “definitely been quite good”, Mr Casserly added. Whereas some companies began to shy away from new developments because of the new building regulations – regarded as onerous and expensive for smaller employers – O’Malley’s had less difficulty with the changed regime, he said.

“The new regulations would come as a shock to anyone who stopped building in 2007, but we already had existing relationships with subcontractors and with inspectors, and we had set a standard for ourselves,” he said. “Still, it is a very different construction environment out there.”

Some of Galway’s prime building land has been frozen until there is a decision on the proposed route for a new motorway, which will cut through rather than bypass the city – and is, therefore, already facing considerable opposition.

“We have two to three reasonably sized sites which are locked up due to this uncertainty, and the proposed new town of Ardaun on the city/county boundary to the east is still the subject of negotiation between the two local authorities,” Mr Casserly added. “We are fortunate that we still have a good bit of land that is not tied up.”