HOUSE BUILDING halved in the first six months of the year, indicating that around 60,000 jobs could be lost in residential construction this year.

Builders began work on just 15,386 new homes in the Republic during the first six months of the year, fewer than half the 31,747 commenced in the same period last year, according to the Department of the Environment and Local Government.

The department's new home commencement figures, based on data collected from the State's local authorities, represent a 51 per cent fall in house building activity in the first six months of the year.

According to industry estimates, each new home built in the Republic creates two jobs, so a fall of about 30,000 by the end of the year could result in 60,000 building job losses.

Before new homes are constructed, the builder is legally obliged to notify their local authority that they are due to start work on them.

Industry sources pointed out yesterday that the figures could slightly overstate the number of new homes on which building work began during the period, as developers may not commence work on them all at once.

Earlier this month, industry insurer, Homebond, published figures showing that the number of proposed new homes registered with the agency in July slumped by 84 per cent year-on-year to 481.

At the time, NCB industry analyst, John Sheehan, said the figures showed the rate of decline in the industry was accelerating.