House building increases

The National House-Building Council said 37,400 homes were completed in the last three months, a 12 per cent increase on the second quarter of last year. The number of applications to begin building new homes in the quarter rose by 16 per cent to 41,100.

Housebuilding figures for May from the Department of the Environment also showed a rise in activity, with the three-month totals for starts up by 9 per cent on the previous quarter and completions up by 15 per cent. These figures include local authority building.