The Irish construction industry is likely to have suffered the biggest quarterly crash in activity on record as a result of coronavirus, with output falling by more than 30 per cent, an industry expert has warned.
The extent of the downturn will not be known until next month when the Central Statistics Office (CSO) publishes second-quarter growth numbers for the Irish economy and its constituent sectors.
Ulster Bank chief economist Simon Barry said it was safe to assume the construction sector here would under-perform international aggregates by some way because of the tightness of restrictions imposed to curb the spread of the virus.
He said the reversal is likely to be similar to that experienced by the UK.
Figures last week showed construction activity in the UK fell by 35 per cent in the second quarter, compared to a 12 per cent decline in the euro area.
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