New dwelling completions in Ireland up 17 pct in Q1

Source: Xinhua | 2020-05-08

A total of 4,986 new dwellings were completed in Ireland in the first quarter (Q1) of this year, up 17.2 percent year-on-year, the country's Central Statistics Office (CSO) said on Thursday.

Of all the new dwellings completed in Q1, 2,848 were scheme dwellings (multi-unit developments of two or more houses), up 10.8 percent year-on-year; 1,094 were single dwellings or detached houses, up 0.6 percent year-on-year; and 1,044 were apartments, up 75.2 percent year-on-year.

Over 80 percent of the new dwellings were constructed in the urban areas of the country during the period, the CSO said, adding that more than 80 percent of the newly constructed apartments were located in the capital Dublin.

The figures showed that the average size of the new dwellings constructed in the country has continued to fall on a yearly basis since 2012. In 2012, the average size of new dwellings constructed in Ireland was 192.7 square meters, but the figure dropped to 127.5 square meters in Q1 2020.

The CSO figures indicate that the current COVID-19 pandemic has had little impact on the country's construction sector during the first quarter of this year simply because lockdown measures were not introduced until March 27.

Local observers believe that the impact of the pandemic on the Irish construction sector will be felt in the second quarter.

According to a plan recently announced by the Irish government, the current lockdown measures will be eased in five stages starting from May 18. The construction sector is to be reopened in the first stage.