A shortage of skilled labour is apparent on building sites in and around Cork city, but there is no evidence of contracts being postponed as a result. This is because the effects of shortages are not felt evenly at any one time. One firm may have problems with plasterers one week, another may find it difficult to find masons the next. Short-term delays are, however, the order of the day for large contractors.

"In general, getting people can be a problem, but everyone is not having the same problem at the same time," says Michael Daly, a director of P J Hegarty. "You cannot get the resources as easily as a few years ago. From time to time, you can't get enough carpenters or masons. Costs are going up, but margins have not gone up with them. Land, concrete products and labour have all become more expensive."

Tony Mullally, of Mullally Developments, which is involved in the construction of the large Dun Eoin housing development in Carrigaline, says that it is difficult, though not impossible, to find qualified people. "Masons are getting about one pound a block. This is up about 20 per cent on two years ago. Other trades have not gone up as much."

Demand is very strong at the moment, but Mullally finds it easier to get people now than a year ago. "People who are at work are working harder and they are working longer," he believes. "They might have done two or three days a week a few years ago, now they do five or six."

The wet trades, like bricklaying and plastering, are worst affected by shortages, according to Joe O'Brien, area director of the Construction Industry Federation in Cork. There is also a scarcity of carpenters and mechanical fitters. But there is no evidence that contracts are being held up by labour shortages.

The CIF has approached the problem in a two-pronged way. It has successfully advertised abroad for people who had previously left Ireland to return, and they have worked with FAS to secure an increase in the number of apprentices in training. The number of apprentices for the four-year programme has gone up from 2,500 three years ago to 4,000 now. The hope is that when the first batch of extra apprentices come on stream in a couple of years the shortage problems will ease.