By Business & Finance 
According to the latest edition of the Building Information Index, the value of construction projects commenced saw a significant increase in the first three quarters of 2015, rising by €1.7bn to €4.25bn compared to 2014.
The Building Information Index is produced by a team of researchers at Building Information Ireland who examine the various phases on every construction project using up to date planning and detailed project information.
Project applications, which measures the value of construction projects that have applied for planning permission, are also up by +26% to €11.27 billion in the first nine months of 2015 from €9bn for the same period in 2014.
Residential projects that have commenced construction in the first nine months of 2015 are up +98% from the previous year. When complete, these entire projects would yield a total of 11,795 individual housing units, with a construction value of approximately €2.09bn. The better news however is to be found in the volume of residential projects that have submitted a planning application. This figure continues to rise, indicating a strong pipeline of potential residential projects and is up +29% on last year. A total of 27,750 residential units would be built if all of these projects proceed through the planning process, representing a construction value of approximately €5.58bn.
Danny O’Shea, managing director, Building Information Ireland, said: “The Building Information Index shows that when these figures for the value of project commencements are broken down for each region, the recovery in the construction sector is being felt across the whole of Ireland. Munster has recorded the largest increase with gains of +126%, while Dublin +74%, Leinster +39% and Connacht/Ulster +32% also performed very strongly. Projects funded exclusively by the exchequer in areas such as Education, show a continued drop in project commencements with a fall of -7% to €211m. This is also mirrored in the Social sector with a drop of -12% to €196m. Private sector investment in Agriculture has seen a +33% rise to €84m and projects in the Medical sector also rose by +12% to €354m.”
