Less than 8,500 new houses were built last year, the lowest number of house completions since records began in 1970.

A total of 8,488 houses were built in Ireland during 2012, according to new figures published by the Construction Industry Federation (CIF). This represents a drop of 1,992 or 19 per cent on the figure for 2011 when a total of 10,480 houses were completed.

Previously the lowest level had been the 13,887 units that were built in 1970 when the records began, but the total for 2011 dropped below that mark and 2012 has seen a further fall in completions, according to CIF director general Tom Parlon.

"There is no doubt that house building reached unsustainable levels during the boom years, but the industry has now gone through six successive years of decline. The ESRI estimates that this country requires 15,000 – 20,000 new homes to be built each year but we are significantly below that figure."

Dublin, Cork and Galway saw the highest number of house completions last year. In Dublin 1,266 units were completed, in Cork 1,213 were finished and a further 499 were built in Galway.