The number of new commercial and residential buildings identified here last year fell by 23 per cent, according to figures released today.
GeoDirectory, a subsidiary of An Post, said 17,587 new buildings were identified by An Post delivery staff in 2010, down from 22,961 a year earlier.
The figures show that the number of new buildings recorded last year was 82 per cent lower than in 2007, when a record high of 96,000 were noted.
GeoDirectory, which compiles the figures with Ordnance Survey Ireland, said there were 14,495 new residential buildings in 2010, 2,137 commercial buildings and 955 dual-purpose buildings.
There was a 61 per cent fall in the number of new buildings recorded in Dublin (982). Despite showing a year on year deccrease of 23 per cent Cork had the largest number of additions with 2,577.
Counties Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Longford, Meath, Sligo and Wexford bucked the national trend and showed small increases to their building stocks last year.
The average increase recorded across these counties was 8 per cent, with the largest increase of 33 per cent being recorded in Leitrim, where 329 new buildings were identified.
Carlow showed a year-on-year decrease of 55 per cent in new additions, with just 198 new buildings identified.
Last year's additions bring the total number of buildings in the State to 1,878,824.
GeoDirectory general manager Dara Keogh said he expected the level of new building additions in 2011 would be in line with last year.
"The impact of any return to growth will most likely not be felt in the construction industry until 2012," he said.
