This article is from page 2 of the 2007-10-09 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 2 JPG
THERE has been a slight fall in the amount of buildings completed in Clare during the first six months of 2007 compared to the same period in 2006.
A new survey identified 1,163 new buildings in Clare during the first six months of 2007.
However, the figure represents a fall in the number of completed buildings when compared to the 2006 figure of PAY
GeoDirectory, the company jointly established by An Post and Ordnance Survey Ireland to create and manage a database of every building in the Republic of Ireland, identified 1,163 new commercial and_ residential
buildings across County Clare be- tween January and June of this year.
This brings the total number of buildings in Clare to 53,183 at the ATO MOy Mn LUD Ae
On a national level, GeoDirec- tory predicts healthy growth in the number of new buildings that will be completed this year.
In the first six months of the year, GeoDirectory identified 60,781 new commercial and residential buildings across the country.
This represents a 44 per cent in- crease in the number of new build- ings when compared with the same period last year.
The increase brings the total number of buildings in the Republic of Ireland to 1,789,876. When sea-
sonal adjustments are taken into con- sideration, the figures allow GeoDi- rectory to forecast that over 80,000 new buildings will be completed in 2007. This will make 2007 the second highest year for completed buildings in history behind 2006.
GeoDirectory General Manager, Dara Keogh explained, “In the sec- ond half of the year, we expect to identify at least 20,000 additional oLUBN (ONDA TSAce
‘This allows us to forecast that over 80,000 new buildings will be com- pleted by the end of 2007.”
Meanwhile, a survey carried out by the Ulster Bank has indicated a gradual slowdown in the Irish con- struction industry. The Ulster Bank Construction Purchasing Managers’
Index (PMI) — a seasonally adjusted index designed to measure the over- all performance of the construction economy — pointed to the sharpest contraction of activity since July 2003. Anecdotal evidence suggested that reduced new order volumes had caused the marked fall in activity.
Commenting on the survey, Pat McArdle, Chief Economist at Ulster Bank, said, “Housing activity weak- ened further in September as build- ers and developers reduced output in response to lower new order vol- umes. This trend is likely to continue as new orders fell sharply in Septem- ber. The September PMI points to another sharp decline in employment — usage of sub-contractors fell for the first time in almost four years”.