THERE WAS A 36 per cent decrease in the amount of new buildings built in the Republic of Ireland last year, according to new data.

GeoDirectory said that it recorded 7,943 new buildings in 2013, bringing the total number of buildings in the Republic to 1,900,672.

This is a 36 per cent decrease on the 12,541 new buildings that were recorded in 2012.

Dara Keogh, CEO, GeoDirectory said:

The data indicates that Dublin was the only county to achieve year on year growth in the number of new buildings, illustrating a widening gap which is emerging between Dublin and the rest of the country. While there were decreases in new build activity in all other counties, there were notable variations with the rates of decline ranging from 3 per cent to 78 per cent in individual counties.

With an increase of 47 per cent, Dublin was the only county to record an increase in new buildings from 2012. The 964 new buildings in Dublin accounted for 12 per cent of all new buildings.

Meanwhile, Carlow recorded the largest decrease in new buildings, with a year-on-year decline of 78 per cent.

Vacant

The data also shows that 1,019, or 13 per cent, of new residential and commercial properties are classified as vacant.

The 7,943 new buildings identified across the country included 6,750 residential buildings, 1,027 commercial buildings and 166 buildings with both residential and commercial components.

With 1,243, Cork had the most new buildings, while Longford recorded the fewest, with just 37 new buildings.

Apart from Dublin, every county in the country recorded a decrease in new buildings compared to 2012 figures. The smallest decrease was in Louth, with a 3 per cent decrease recorded.

At the end of the year, 1,318 buildings were under construction across the country.

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