There has been a significant decrease of commencement notices recorded across the Shannonside region so far this year.
The finding was recently revealed in a publication compiled by the Department of Housing.
A commencement notice is a notification to a Building Control Authority that a person intends to carry out works or a material change of use to a building.
In the Shannonside region, 13 notices were recorded last month in Co. Westmeath, the highest figure locally.
Only one commencement notice was recorded in Co. Longford in May.
Meanwhile, six commencements were recorded in Co. Roscommon, while there were four in Co. Leitrim.
This brings to 147 the total number of notices in the Shannonside region, an 84% decrease since the same time last year.
Of the 4,969 commencement notices received so far this year, 30% were in the four Dublin local authorities.
