A SIGNIFICANT drop of 18% in the number of new planning applications in Galway in the first six months of this year is seen as confirmation of a continued serious decline in construction activity in the city and county.

The latest volume of the National Housing Construction Index (NHCI), published this morning, shows that there were 434 planning applications in Galway city and county between January and June of this year compared to 530 over the same period in 2011.

Researchers at www.link2plans.com have produced the NHCI which examines every housing construction planning application and commencement throughout the months of January through to June 2012. The Index gives a direct comparison with the exact same period last year.

The same period saw a significant drop in the number of commencement notices issued in Galway from 245 to 197, a percentage decrease of 20%. The Index shows a significant variation from county to county, while at the same time clearly demonstrating the overall national trend in housing construction activity.

The Managing Director of Link2Plans, Danny O’Shea, said the statistics for Co Galway showed a continued stark decline in construction activity in the first six months of the year.

“Statistics in the construction sector have traditionally been historical data; however what we do with Link2Plans research is to clearly show current patterns of activity. This National Housing Construction Index therefore provides this information in a reliable yet understandable format,” he said.

“When we examine planning applications across every county, effectively we are taking the sentiment of the housing construction activity at any given time. New planning applications are therefore what we would describe as a real time barometer to sentiment in the sector.”

Last week, the Director General of the Construction Industry Federation (CIF), Tom Parlon, expressed concern that a “massive skills drain” from Galway since the economic collapse.

For more on this story see this week’s Sentinel