The number of new commercial and residential buildings completed in the State last year was 87 per cent lower than in 2007, according to new data published today.
A total of 12,237 new buildings were identified in 20011 compared to 96,000 at the height of the construction boom in 2007.
GeoDirectory, a subsidiary of An Post, said the number of new buildings was also 30 per cent lower than in 2010 when 17,587 units were completed.
Cork City and County recorded largest number of new buildings with 1,543 units while Leitrim had the smallest with just 154 units completed.
The 12,237 new buildings identified last year consisted of 10,284 residential buildings, 1,661 commercial buildings and 292 dual-purpose building with both residential and commercial components.
Sligo, where 217 new buildings were identified, showed the largest decrease in new building activity with a 63 per cent drop compared to 2010.
In contrast, counties Cavan, Dublin, Kildare, Limerick and Waterford bucked the national trend showing small increases in new building additions. The average increase recorded
across these counties was 12 per cent with the largest increase of 34 per cent seen in Kildare, where 483 new buildings were identified.
“While figures for the first six months of 2011 showed a return to growth in eleven counties, only five of these sustained this growth through to the end of the year. The overall national picture continues to show a year-on-year decline in building additions," said GeoDirectory general manager Dara Keogh.
GeoDirectory, which compiles the figures with Ordnance Survey Ireland, said the total number of buildings in the Republic of Ireland currently stands at 1,885,785.
