The political standoff is “holding back construction activity” in Northern Ireland and firms are being forced to seek work outside of the North, the latest industry research showed on Wednesday.

More than 40 per cent of local construction firms have reported that the majority of their work is currently based outside of Northern Ireland and 44 per cent of firms expect this level to rise over the coming quarter.

The latest construction market survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and Tughans highlights that infrastructure workloads were “flat” in the North while public, non-housing work loads also fell significantly.

The chairman of the Assembly Enterprise Committee claimed the survey shows that the recent period of political instability has held back crucial capital investment projects.

SDLP Mid Ulster MLA Patsy McGlone said: “Investors don’t care much about party politics but when that impacts on political stability, as it has here, they think twice about where they locate their business.

“A number of ministers in this Executive have excelled in letting capital investment projects stall or slip through their grasp. The A5, the A6, Narrow Water Bridge and Desertcreat – there were plenty of photo ops but little in the way of delivery.”

The RICS Northern Ireland spokesman, Jim Sammon, said its survey also underlines that local firms have seen no real recovery in activity locally while the political environment impacts further on infrastructure spend.

“Investing in infrastructure is a crucial part of rebalancing and growing the economy.

“We need better roads and railways, schools, hospitals, and energy infrastructure to meet our sustainable energy needs. A lot of our existing infrastructure is aging and in need of replacement, and we would strongly encourage the policy makers to take a strategic view in relation to where best public money should be spent to make the most positive impact for the economy and society,” Mr Sammon added.