Building and construction activity fell by more than a third in the first three months of the year, according to data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

The volume of output was 34.1 per cent lower in the first quarter compared with the same period in 2009, among the largest decreases in the euro zone and the European Union as a whole, while the value of production was down 34.8 per cent.

The CSO said the fall in the volume of output was largely due to a slump of more than 48 per cent in residential building work and a 32 per cent drop in non-residential building work.

In the year to the first quarter of 2010, output in the building and construction sector fell by 7.8 per cent in the 27 EU member states, and slipped 9.9 per cent in the euro area.