The flooding crisis may have a silver lining for the construction industry and economy in the longer term, according to a leading economist.

Prof Richard Tol of the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) has said that while the flooding has caused widespread damage, there may be an unexpected fillip to the economy once the clean-up operation begins.

“Floods are bad but flood restoration can actually provide a stimulus to the economy,” said Dr Tol. He ...

The housing market should stabilise in 2011, but no meaningful recovery is likely before 2014, according to economist Dr. John McCartney.

Based on his premise that natural cycles underpin all commercial and residential property markets, McCartney told an audience of prominent business leaders in Waterford how these past market cycles provide the clearest foresight into what is likely to happen in the Irish property market over the next decade. "Research on pr...