O'Connor said economic growth and high employment figures would continue to underpin demand for new homes and that buyers were unlikely to be put off by moderate interest rate hikes. "We are quite upbeat.

While there is an expectation interest rates will rise, I don't think there is an expectation they will rise significantly, " he said.

McInerney last week reported a 17% rise in net profit to 41m off the back of 31% sales growth in 2005.

The builder saw sales across its three markets in Ireland, the UK and Spain, grow to 489m. McInerney looks odds-on to breach the half billion euro sales barrier for the first time this year.

The company generates 62% of its revenue in Ireland at present but continues to expand apace in the UK. McInerney completed nearly a third more houses in the UK last year and has recently acquired a smaller rival, Augusta, to add to its geographical spread.

Construction in Spain, where the company has been building up its land bank and working through the planning process for various developments, is expected to take off over the next two years, and will start working through to McInerney's bottom line in 2008.