Business
Residential construction in Galway down by 70% over the past 12 months
There has been a dramatic drop in the level of residential construction work across Galway.
According to new research in the ‘National Housing Construction Index’, activity in the city and county during the first two months of 2015 was “sluggish”.
The report – compiled by researchers at Link2Plans.com – found that when compared to the same period last year, the number of project commencements was down by almost 70%, while planning applications are down 13%.
The index measures construction activity through planning applications and Commencement Notices submitted to the City and County Councils. Commencement Notices are submitted when construction work is about to begin on a permitted project.
The figures show that in January and February, there 50 Commencement Notices submitted to the local authorities in Galway – that is down 69% on the 159 recorded for the same period last year, and almost on a par with the 49 recorded for the same two months in 2012 and 2013.
The overall national decrease was 62%.
However, Danny O’Shea, Managing Director with Link2Plans explained the 2014 figures were skewed by the new Building Regulations introduced in March of that year.
“2014 was an exceptional year due to regulatory changes. The introduction of changes to the building regulations in March 2014 caused an unprecedented surge in commencements, which was akin a one-off stimulus boost.
“In fact, commencements for the first two months of the 2015 are up over 3% on the same period in 2013, which probably gives a more accurate picture of the steady but slow growth in the sector.
“As building applicants rushed to lodge their commencements before the changes to the regulations, it created an anomaly in the market with an increase in commencements of 132% for the first quarter of 2014. These were exceptional gains and ones which we don’t anticipate will be repeated in the medium term,” he said.
“The fall in project commencements nationally reflects the situation in Galway, which also saw commencements fall sharply.
“The beginning of 2015 has seen growth in the residential construction sector in Galway remain sluggish,” said Mr O’Shea.
Meanwhile, planning applications were down 13% to 79 (from 91) on last year, lacking significantly behind an overall national increase of 9%.
The new President of Local Ireland, the association representing local news publishers around the country, is Head of Irish Times Regionals Dan Linehan.
Mr Linehan takes over the presidency from Declan McGuire of the Connacht Tribune. His appointment was confirmed at the recent Annual General Meeting of Local Ireland at Bloomfield House Hotel near Mullingar, Westmeath.
Mr Linehan, who has served as Vice President of the organisation for the last two years, said: “The coming years are a very important time for local publishers with many important issues to be addressed, including the implementation of the Future of Media Commission recommendations, defamation reform, the role and support for local publishers in public service reporting and helping publishers develop commercial digital offerings.”
Speaking at the AGM, Mr McGuire acknowledged the work done by the Executive in the past two years under the direction of Executive Director, Bob Hughes, on several projects related to the publishing industry but most especially the successful conclusion of the long-running campaign for the abolition of VAT on newspapers.
He also wished Mr Linehan the very best in his new role as President of the association for the next two years.
Mr Hughes thanked Mr McGuire for his leadership and support during his term of office and said he looked forward to working with Mr Linehan on the key policy priorities for the association, including Government supports, Government advertising, fair remuneration for content from the tech platforms and the reform of the legislation for defamation.
Local Ireland members also elected Seán Mahon, Managing Director of the Southern Star, as Vice President for the next two years.
The shortage of affordable housing is the single biggest impediment in attracting and retaining workers in the West, according to business group Ibec.
At a ‘Regional Insights Series’ meeting in the Galmont Hotel in Galway last week, employers were told that capacity constraints and labour supply are the key challenges facing business growth in the region.
Ibec Head of Regional Policy Helen Leahy said: “There must be greater focus by government on enhancing quality of life issues such as housing and infrastructure which are driving labour shortages in the region.
“Ibec’s vision for the West is to realise its potential to become a globally competitive location. An inadequate supply of affordable housing is now the single largest impediment to attracting and retaining talented workers, without whom business investment and expansions are not possible.
“Labour shortages are a real concern for businesses in the region. People decide where to live and work based on quality of life and access to high quality services and amenities. Industry tends to follow talent, and in this regard, the region needs to have all the building blocks in place as the attraction and retention of world-class talent becomes increasingly competitive on a global level,” said Ms Leahy.
Amongst Ibec’s priorities for the West are:
- Addressing housing and infrastructure challenges
- Transitioning towards a new growth model with Net Zero energy powered by Atlantic offshore wind resources
- Adapting businesses to the new economic realities
- Enhancing capacity and skillsets to achieve sustainable development objectives
- Investment in people and skills
- Creating competitive advantage through digitalisation
- Innovation as a key driver of productivity growth
One in five Galway businesses want to go fully cashless, as the move towards card payments and tapping continues unabated post-Covid.
In all, 22% of Galway businesses would like to be fully cashless, according to a survey carried out by BOI Payment Acceptance (BOIPA), a provider of payment technology solutions, which asked Irish businesses about the current payment landscape as well as business confidence and concerns.
Over one-third (36%) of Galway businesses were unaware there is no contactless limit on mobile wallets – just below the national average – while 54% believe the increase in card over cash transactions has helped them run their business.
Six out of ten Galway businesses expect to grow this year despite the cost-of-living crisis and running costs dominating as key concerns; 62% believe their business will grow over the next twelve months despite global economic uncertainty.
Unsurprisingly cost-of-living increases and running costs were the main concerns the majority of businesses had.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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