Users should note that the number of new dwelling units granted planning permission can vary significantly from quarter to quarter if a large development or a number of large developments are approved within the same reference quarter. Users should therefore exercise caution in extrapolating long-term trends on the basis of a single quarter’s data. Additionally, changes to applications processes for Strategic Housing Developments (SHD) and related issues in An Bord Pleanála in 2022 may impact the number of planning permissions granted over recent quarters. Users should also note that the backlog of SHD applications which have been both processed and are still before An Bord Pleanála awaiting decision, may also impact the number of planning permissions granted over recent quarters.
There was an annual decrease of more than 28% in the total number of dwelling units approved in Quarter 1 (Q1) 2024, down from 11,659 units in Q1 2023 to 8,387 units in Q1 2024.
Houses accounted for 58% of all dwelling units granted planning permission in Q1 2024, while apartments made up the remaining 42%.
In Q1 2024, the number of houses granted planning permission fell by more than 20% when compared with Q1 2023, while apartment approvals declined by more than a third (-36.7%).
In Q1 2024 there was an annual fall of more than 9% in the number of one-off houses receiving planning permission from 1,420 units in Q1 2023 to 1,288 units in Q1 2024.
There was an annual decline of almost 24% in the number of multi-development houses receiving planning permission in Q1 2024 compared with an annual increase of almost 54% in Q4 2023.
Across the four local authorities of Dublin, planning permission was granted for 2,003 apartments in Q1 2024, accounting for almost six in ten (57%) of all apartments granted planning permission in the state in the first three months of the year.
Between Q1 2023 and Q1 2024, there was an annual decline of 56.8% in apartment units approved in Dublin.
In Q1 2024, there was an annual decrease of 57% (5,608 to 2,388) in the total number of Strategic Housing Developments (SHD) dwelling units approved, of which the number of houses approved declined by 50.0%, compared with a fall of 61.2% in the number of apartments approved.
The headline table shows the total number of dwelling units (Houses and Apartments) granted planning permission in Quarter 1 (Q1) of 2023 and 2024. It also highlights the annual percentage changes.
| Dwelling units granted planning permission in Quarter 1 of 2023 and 2024 | ||||
| Quarter 1 | ||||
| 2023 | 2024 | Change | ||
| Multi-development houses | 4,726 | 3,611 | -1,115 | -23.6% |
| One-off houses | 1,420 | 1,288 | -132 | -9.3% |
| All Houses | 6,146 | 4,899 | -1,247 | -20.3% |
| Apartments | 5,513 | 3,488 | -2,025 | -36.7% |
| Total Dwellings | 11,659 | 8,387 | -3,272 | -28.1% |
In the first quarter (Q1) of 2024 there were 3,488 apartments granted planning permission. During the same period, 3,611 multi-development houses and 1,288 one-off houses were approved.
Houses accounted for 58.4% of all new dwelling units granted planning permission in Q1 2024 with 4,899 units approved. There were 3,488 apartments granted planning permission in Quarter 1 of 2024. This was in contrast to the previous quarter (Q4 2023), when more apartments than houses had been granted planning permission.
In total, there were 6,639 applications for planning permissions granted for all developments in Q1 2024. Applications may relate to a single dwelling or a number of dwellings in the case of multi-unit development applications. Of these applications granted permission, 1,643 were for new construction dwellings, 1,929 for other new constructions, 1,916 for extensions, and 1,151 permissions were for alterations and conversions.
Of the 1,643 new construction dwellings granted planning permission, 1,288 were one-off houses, 201 were apartments, 144 were multi-development houses, and ten were communal dwellings.
| For long labels below use to display on multiple lines | Status |
|---|---|
| New construction dwellings | 1643 |
| New construction other | 1929 |
| Extensions | 1916 |
| Alterations and conversions | 1151 |
| For long labels below use to display on multiple lines | Status |
|---|---|
| Multi-development houses | 144 |
| One-off houses | 1288 |
| Apartments | 201 |
| Communal dwellings | 10 |
An annual increase of 9.9% has been recorded in the number of planning permissions granted for all developments, with 6,042 permissions approved in Q1 2023 compared with 6,639 permissions approved in the current quarter. During the same period an annual decrease of 5.2% was recorded in the number of planning permissions granted for new construction dwellings. In contrast, there were annual increases in approvals for alterations and conversions (+26.5%), extensions (+18.6%), and other new constructions (+8.2%).
There were 6,639 planning permissions granted for all functional categories in Q1 2024. Dwelling units accounted for 62.2% (4,127) of all permissions granted. Of these 4,127 permissions granted, 1,643 were for new constructions, 1,657 were for extensions, and 827 were for alterations and conversions.
There were 3,488 new apartments granted planning permission in Q1 2024.
Dublin had the highest proportion of new apartments approved with 57.4% (2,003) of all apartments granted planning permission in the state, followed by the Mid-East region with 18.1% (631 apartments) and the South-West region with 9.0% (315 apartments). The Eastern and Midland region (Dublin, Mid-East, and Midlands) accounted for 2,796 new apartments, 80.2% of the overall total granted planning permission. The Southern region (Mid-West, South-East, and South-West) accounted for 14.9% (519) of apartment approvals with the Northern and Western region (Border and West) accounting for the remaining 5.0% (173 apartments).
Within the county of Dublin, Fingal County Council accounted for 18.5% (646) and South Dublin County Council accounted for 15.7% (547) of the total number of apartment units granted planning permission in the state in Q1 2024. Outside of Dublin, the highest numbers of apartments granted planning permissions were in counties Kildare (324 apartments), Cork (169 apartments), and Kerry (146 apartments). Counties Leitrim, Roscommon, and Sligo did not grant any planning permissions for apartments during the current quarter.
There were 4,899 new houses granted planning permission in Q1 2024.
The South-West region had the highest proportion of new houses approved with 20.8% (1,020) of all houses granted planning permission in the state. This was followed by the Mid-East region with 20.0% (979) of house approvals and the Midlands region with 18.8% (923 houses). The Eastern and Midland region (Dublin, Mid-East, and Midlands) accounted for 2,112 new houses, 43.1% of the total number of new houses granted planning permission. The Southern region (Mid-West, South-East, and South-West) accounted for 38.4% (1,881) of house approvals with the Northern and Western region (Border and West) accounting for the remaining 18.5% (906 houses).
Cork had the highest proportion of houses granted planning permission at 15.2% (745 houses) in the state in Q1 2024. Laois had the second highest number of houses granted planning permission at 13.1% (640 houses), followed by Kildare at 8.8% (431 houses) and Galway at 6.4% (314 houses). Leitrim with fourteen houses had the lowest proportion of houses granted planning permission, followed by Roscommon (17 houses) and Longford (18 houses).
The Strategic Housing Development (SHD) process is where applications of at least 100 residential units or 200+ student bed spaces can be made directly to An Bord Pleanála.
In comparison with Q1 2023, there was an annual decrease of 57.4% (5,608 to 2,388) in the total number of SHD dwelling units approved. There was an annual decline of 50.0% in the number of houses approved under the SHD process, compared with a fall of 61.2% in the number of SHD apartments approved. In Q1 2024, 28.5% of all planning permissions (1,435 apartments and 953 houses) were granted under the SHD process. Apartments accounted for 60.1% of all successful SHD applications. Of the 4,899 houses granted planning permission, 19.5% (953) were granted under the SHD process.
Please note: The Strategic Housing Development (SHD) process expired to new applications on 25 February 2022. It has been succeeded by the Large-Scale Residential Development (LRD) scheme. Please see Background Notes.
| X-axis label | Non-Strategic Housing Development units | Strategic Housing Development units |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 Q1 - Apartment units | 1810 | 3703 |
| 2023 Q1 - Multi-development house units | 2821 | 1905 |
| 2023 Q2 - Apartment units | 2193 | 2828 |
| 2023 Q2 - Multi-development house units | 1415 | 1115 |
| 2023 Q3 - Apartment units | 2516 | 2287 |
| 2023 Q3 - Multi-development house units | 2388 | 1244 |
| 2023 Q4 - Apartment units | 1296 | 4854 |
| 2023 Q4 - Multi-development house units | 2582 | 1236 |
| 2024 Q1 - Apartment units | 2053 | 1435 |
| 2024 Q1 - Multi-development house units | 2658 | 953 |
Learn about our data and confidentiality safeguards, and the steps we take to produce statistics that can be trusted by all.
Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (13 June 2024) released Planning Permissions for Quarter 1 2024.
Commenting on the release, Shane O'Sullivan, Statistician in the Enterprise Statistics Division, said: “The number of units granted planning permission in Q1 2024 (January, February, and March) was 8,387, of which, 4,899 were for houses and 3,488 were for apartments. The number of apartments approved decreased by more than a third (-36.7%) when compared with Q1 2023. The number of houses approved in Q1 2024 fell by more than 20% over the same period. There was an annual decline of 28% in the total number of dwelling unit approvals in Q1 2024, following an annual rise of 47% in the previous quarter.
Planning Permissions by Type of Dwelling
Planning permission was granted for 2,003 apartments in Dublin in Q1 2024, accounting for almost six in ten (57%) of all apartments granted planning approval in the state. There were 2,213 dwelling units approved in Dublin (2,003 apartments and 210 houses), accounting for more than a quarter (26%) of all dwelling units granted planning permission in Q1 2024. During the same period, the Border Region (Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim, Cavan, and Monaghan) recorded the lowest number of apartment units (29) granted planning permission.
Of the 6,639 individual applications for planning permissions granted in Q1 2024, there were 1,643 for new construction dwellings, 1,929 for other new constructions, 1,916 for extensions, and 1,151 permissions were for alterations and conversions."