By Conor Keane, Business Editor
Monday, May 11, 2009

THE Irish construction sector continues to shrink rapidly on all fronts and is expected to decline further with almost half of those still engaged in the sector expecting to be engaged in less work this time next year.

The housing sector was the worst performing of the three monitored categories in April and Ms Clemenger said, despite the pace of decline easing to its weakest since August 2007, it remained substantial. The smallest reduction during the month was registered in the commercial sector, although the contraction was still considerable. Activity on civil engineering projects fell sharply. Civil engineering activity has decreased continuously since December 2007.

On a bright note for would-be home buyers, input prices fell at the second-fastest pace in the history of the survey, extending the current period of decline to eight months. Increased competition among suppliers was the principal reason for the reduction.

Original Article