NI house-building at record level

The RICS says there has been a housing-building boom

New houses are being built in Northern Ireland at a faster rate in the past three months than any time in the past 13 years, the RICS has claimed.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said the house-building boom was fuelling "the considerable growth of the local construction industry".

There was "strong growth in commercial and infrastructure building work".

Builders were confident devolution would "lead to an increase in infrastructure spending".

RICS Northern Ireland construction spokesman, John Davidson, said: "In Northern Ireland, the private housing sector was the main driver, though big increases were also reported in infrastructure and private commercial sectors.

It is important to look at the gender balance in the industry and to consider how more women can be recruited into the profession John Davidson Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors

"The latter enjoyed more rapid growth than at any time in the past seven years."

Mr Davidson said the establishment of the new executive had created an expectation that a considerable amount of infrastructure work and public works would "soon come to fruition".

He said, however, that skills shortages were "an ongoing concern".

"We are seeing a significant shortage of quantity surveyors, and RICS has been working in conjunction with government, learning institutions and individual firms to try to address the issue.

"It is also important to look at the gender balance in the industry and to consider how more women can be recruited into the profession, in addition to looking overseas to help plug the gaps."