A record 38,842 houses and apartments were completed in 1997, a 15 per cent increase on the previous year which was in itself a record, the Minister of State for Housing, Mr Robert Molloy, has said.
He said the level of housebuilding in relation to population was the highest in Europe, at 10.6 units per 1,000 population. The Republic was well exceeding requirement figures of 32,000 per year estimated by the ESRI and other commentators.