There Will Be About 7,000 Fewer Homes Built This Year Than Had Been Expected Before The Pandemic

That's according to the Banking and Payments Federation, which says 18,000 units will be finished this year, a 14% drop on 2019.

Cork and Dublin are the hardest hit by the slowdown in the construction sector, particularly during the lockdown.

Dr Ali Ugar from the Federation, says this year's estimate was about 25,000: