Figures released today by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) reveal a slowdown in the growth of the Irish construction industry.
The first results from the new CSO survey indicate that the volume of production in building and construction increased by 1.1 per cent last year. The value of production in the sector grew by 7.7 per cent in the same period.
The figures reveal a slow-down in production from 2005 in which there was annual growth of 12.6 per cent and 17.9 per cent in volume and value respectively.
The statistics show that from the second quarter of last year, the volume of residential output declined when compared to the same period in the previous year. The total volume of output in the residential sector was 4.7 per cent lower in 2006 than in 2005.
In contrast the volume of production in non-residential development increased by 17.2 per cent between the last quarter of 2005 and that of 2006. The level of non-residential output rose by 14.1 per cent between 2005 and 2006.