Figures on house completions released this morning by the Department of the Environment have ended a decade of annual increases in the number of new homes being built in the Republic.
Figures from the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government released this morning show that 41,863 units were built in the first seven months of the year, a drop of 0.9 per cent on the corresponding figure for 2004.
Minister for Housing and Urban Renewal, Mr Noel Ahern announced the figures this morning.
"At this stage, the figures would seem to be pointing to another year of very high output, but there are some indications of a general levelling off, which is probably to be expected after 10 years of record house building growth. We will watch with interest how the trend develops through the remainder of the year, " he said.
Dublin saw the greatest number of completion, with 9,579 houses built in the capital. Cork came second with 4,811 completions.
The figures show that Monaghan saw the lowest rate of completion, with only 377 built in the first seven months.
On this basis, about 76,000 new homes would be completed this year. The statistics cover public and private housing.
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