Central Statistics Office figures show that the volume of output in the building and construction sector fell by 5.7% in the third quarter of this year. Output has now fallen by 31.2% over the last year.
The CSO said there was an 11.8% fall in the volume of civil engineering activity during the three months, while residential building showed a 12.2% decline. But there was an increase of 5% in the volume of non-residential building.
CSO figures show some prices creeping up
Other CSO figures show that factory gate prices - or prices of goods before they reach consumers - rose by 1.6% in November, following a 1.6% drop in October. Prices are now unchanged compared with a year earlier.
Prices of consumer, electronic and optical products rose by 2.9% in the month, while prices of some foods including bread and confectionery increased by 1.8%.
A breakdown of wholesale prices showed there was no change in prices of building materials in the month, but prices of energy products were up 0.7%, led by a 2% rise in petrol costs.
CSO figures on prices charged by service providers to businesses showed a 0.2% increase in prices in the third quarter compared with the second quarter. This was the second quarterly rise in a row. Prices are still down 1.3% over 12 months, however.
The biggest falls in prices in the quarter were for air transport services and sea and coastal transport, but prices for computer programming and consultancy increased.
