Charging consumers for their water would raise enough funds to pull the beleaguered construction sector out of recession.

A top building professional group has again called for the imposition of charges as it emerged that construction activity in Northern Ireland continued to fall significantly in the third quarter of the year, and though it has been at a less sharp rate than in the second quarter.

The RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) Construction Market Survey said that workloads, employment expectations and profit expectations remain deeply negative and, according to the survey, respondents were citing public spending cuts and wider economic uncertainty as key factors.

RICS said NI remains the UK region with the largest proportion of construction sector chartered surveyors experiencing declining workloads, with a net balance of -63, compared to a UK average of -10. However, this was an improvement from the second quarter balance of -75.

RICS Northern Ireland spokesman, Jim Sammon, said: "With cuts to capital spending expected, the situation will only get worse unless action is taken.

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"The Executive needs to explore all options at its disposal to raise revenue to support capital investment in the interests of Northern Ireland as a whole.

"This should include the introduction of domestic water charging as soon as possible," he repeated, noting that the Executive also has the ability to move funds from current spending to the capital budget.

"Government should be focusing its resources on the areas that will have the most positive impact for the economy and society.

"We strongly believe that it is in the public interest to continue to prioritise capital spending, both to ensure our society has the infrastructure it needs, and because of the high economic return investment in construction brings," Mr Sammon continued.

"It is important that the Northern Ireland Executive agrees a budget as soon as possible so that certainty regarding funds available for capital spending can be provided.

"The construction industry requires clarity regarding work coming down-the-line and transparency regarding workflow to be able to plan ahead and ensure the necessary skills are available to facilitate demand," Mr Sammon concluded.

Published quarterly, the RICS Construction Market Survey provides a unique look at this £80bn industry in the UK.

It features trends in house building activity, labour availability, expected profit margins and publicly funded building infrastructure projects.

Just last month, RICS Northern Ireland Director, Ben Collin said that the construction of hospitals and schools - which would of course boost the building sector - could be stymied if water charges are not in fact introduced.

"We realise that this is a politically sensitive issue, but continuing to defer domestic water charging will only have a detrimental impact on the ability to spend on crucial things like schools and hospitals.

"We think that the long-term interests of NI will therefore be best served by introducing domestic water charging as soon as possible," he said.

See: Builders 'Need Water Charges', Says RICS

(BMcC/KMcA)