Irish Excavation Licenses indicate continued reduction in work

[BAJR]

http://charles-mount.ie/wp/?p=974

From Charles Mounts Blog:
[h=1]Excavation Licenses indicate continued reduction in archaeological and construction activity in 2012[/h]
Excavation licences 2000-2012


Archaeological Licenses indicate that in 2012 archaeological activity in Ireland continued to contract for the sixth year reaching a fifteen year low.
Figures provided by the National Monuments Service indicate that the total number of archaeological excavation licenses issued for the year 2012 was 454. This is a reduction of 18.6% from the 558 licenses issued in 2011 and indicates that both archaeological investigations and the construction activity that they relate to continued their decline. This now represents a drop of 78% from the peak of archaeological activity in 2006

[Bodger51]

The numbers are interesting, but are we looking at a reseting of the work being undertaken, the amount of work undertaken, the size and scale of permitted works by the licences, or the educational standard for the profession?