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Planning Permissions Quarter 2 2023

Fall of 23% in the number of dwelling units approved in Quarter 2 2023

Online ISSN: 2009-5279

CSO statistical publication, 08 September 2023, 11am

Advisory Note

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 the Bord awaiting decision, may also impact the number of planning permissions granted over recent quarters.

Key Findings

There was an annual decrease of more than 23% in the total number of dwelling units approved in Quarter 2 (Q2) 2023 at 8,723 units compared with 11,374 units in Q2 2022, while in Q1 2023 an annual increase of 38% was recorded.
For the six-month period (January to June 2023) there was an overall increase of 3% in the total number of dwelling units approved when compared with the same period in 2022.
Apartments accounted for 58% of all dwelling units approved, while housing units made up the remaining 42%.
The number of houses granted planning permission fell by 18% on an annual basis to 3,702 housing units, while apartment approvals were down by 27% to 5,021 units.
In Q2 2023 there was an annual decrease of more than 36% in the number of one-off houses receiving planning permission, compared with an annual decline of 32% in Q1 2023.
There was an annual fall of 6% in multi-development houses receiving planning permission in Q2 2023 compared with an annual increase of 81% in Q1 2023.
Across the four local authorities of Dublin, planning permission was granted for 3,351 apartments in Q2 2023, accounting for two-thirds of all apartments granted planning permission in the state between April and June of this year.
More than one in five (21%) of all dwelling units granted planning permission in the state in Q2 2023 were in the Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council local authority area, with 1,747 apartment units and 93 houses.

Statistician's Comment

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (08 September 2023) released Planning Permissions for Quarter 2 (Q2) 2023.

Commenting on the release, Shane O'Sullivan, Statistician in the Business Statistics Division, said: “The number of units granted planning permission in Q2 (April, May, and June) 2023 was 8,723. Of this, 58% (5,021) were for apartments and 42% (3,702) were for houses. The number of apartments approved decreased by 27% when compared with Q2 2022. The number of houses approved in Q2 2023 fell by 18% over the same period. There was a total annual decrease of 23% in the number of dwelling unit approvals in Q2 2023, following an annual increase of 38% in the previous quarter.

Planning permission was granted for 3,351 apartments in Dublin in Q2 2023, accounting for two-thirds (67%) of all apartments granted planning approval in the state. There were 1,840 dwelling units approved in the Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council local authority area (1,747 apartments and 93 houses), accounting for more than a fifth (21%) of all dwelling units granted planning permission in Q2 2023. During the same period, the Midlands Region (Longford, Westmeath, Offaly, and Laois) recorded the lowest number of apartment units (43) granted planning permission.

Of the 5,955 individual applications for planning permissions granted in Q2 2023, 1,471 were for new construction dwellings, 1,791 for other new constructions, 1,767 for extensions, and 926 permissions were for alterations and conversions."

Headline Table

The headline table shows the total number of dwelling units (Houses and Apartments) granted planning permission in Quarter 2 (Q2) of 2022 and 2023. It also highlights the annual percentage changes.

Dwelling units granted planning permission in Quarter 2 of 2022 and 2023
	Houses	Apartments	Total
Quarter 2 2022	4,532	6,842	11,374
Quarter 2 2023	3,702	5,021	8,723
Annual % change	-18.3%	-26.6%	-23.3%

Open in Excel: Planning Permissions Q2 2023 Headline Table (XLS 10KB)

Dwelling units granted planning permission

In the second quarter (Q2) of 2023 there were 5,021 apartments granted planning permission. During the same period, 2,530 multi-development houses and 1,172 one-off houses were approved.

Table 1 Summary of planning permissions granted for new houses and apartments, Q1 2018 - Q2 2023

Table 1 Summary of planning permissions granted for new houses and apartments, Q1 2018 - Q2 2023
		Multi-Development Houses				One-Off Houses				All Houses				Apartments
Period		Number of Permissions	Number of Units	Floor Area (000 m²)	Average Floor Area per Unit (m²)	Number of Permissions	Number of Units	Floor Area (000 m²)	Average Floor Area per Unit (m²)	Number of Permissions	Number of Units	Floor Area (000 m²)	Average Floor Area per Unit (m²)	Number of Permissions	Number of Units	Floor Area (000 m²)	Average Floor Area per Unit (m²)
2018	Q1	146	4,367	555	127.1	1,391	1,391	331	238.0	1,537	5,758	886	153.9	161	1,867	159	85.2
	Q2	149	3,636	482	132.6	1,315	1,315	312	237.1	1,464	4,951	794	160.4	161	1,826	166	91.0
	Q3	177	3,463	442	127.6	1,416	1,416	335	236.9	1,593	4,879	777	159.3	210	2,976	265	88.9
	Q4	150	3,017	385	127.7	1,359	1,359	323	237.4	1,509	4,376	708	161.8	160	2,306	190	82.2
	Year	622	14,483	1,865	128.8	5,481	5,481	1,301	237.3	6,103	19,964	3,166	158.6	692	8,975	780	86.9
2019	Q1	157	3,438	445	129.5	1,456	1,456	340	233.7	1,613	4,894	785	160.5	195	2,378	205	86.1
	Q2	169	3,549	461	129.8	1,387	1,387	320	230.7	1,556	4,936	781	158.2	201	4,520	378	83.7
	Q3	168	3,401	434	127.8	1,514	1,514	355	234.5	1,682	4,915	790	160.6	226	5,174	398	76.9
	Q4	149	3,553	438	123.4	1,265	1,265	296	234.2	1,414	4,818	735	152.5	169	6,826	536	78.5
	Year	643	13,941	1,779	127.6	5,622	5,622	1,312	233.3	6,265	19,563	3,090	158.0	791	18,898	1,516	80.2
2020	Q1	171	3,227	408	126.4	1,355	1,355	311	229.6	1,526	4,582	719	156.9	188	8,500	637	75.0
	Q2	92	2,394	284	118.5	669	669	157	234.3	761	3,063	440	143.8	102	4,208	300	71.2
	Q3	160	3,878	464	119.6	1,754	1,754	414	235.8	1,914	5,632	877	155.8	265	6,850	505	73.7
	Q4	129	2,918	333	114.0	1,514	1,514	363	239.5	1,643	4,432	695	156.9	187	5,104	403	78.9
	Year	552	12,417	1,488	119.8	5,292	5,292	1,244	235.1	5,844	17,709	2,732	154.3	742	24,662	1,844	74.8
2021	Q1	104	1,428	175	122.8	1,661	1,661	400	240.7	1,765	3,089	575	186.2	193	3,874	274	70.8
	Q2	120	2,100	249	118.7	1,786	1,786	431	241.1	1,906	3,886	680	175.0	222	7,264	497	68.5
	Q3	120	2,383	287	120.4	2,018	2,018	482	238.9	2,138	4,401	769	174.7	207	7,027	519	73.8
	Q4	128	3,309	398	120.4	2,034	2,034	493	242.4	2,162	5,343	891	166.8	188	8,107	559	68.9
	Year	472	9,220	1,110	120.4	7,499	7,499	1,806	240.8	7,971	16,719	2,915	174.4	810	26,272	1,849	70.4
2022	Q1	132	2,606	311	119.4	2,081	2,081	505	242.6	2,213	4,687	816	174.1	200	3,776	291	77.0
	Q2	124	2,692	322	119.8	1,840	1,840	443	240.6	1,964	4,532	765	168.9	189	6,842	482	70.4
	Q3	117	2,749	319	116.0	1,647	1,647	392	237.8	1,764	4,396	711	161.6	158	2,347	172	73.5
	Q4	104	2,483	302	121.6	1,356	1,356	321	236.7	1,460	3,839	623	162.3	148	3,758	300	80.0
	Year	477	10,530	1,255	119.2	6,924	6,924	1,660	239.8	7,401	17,454	2,915	167.0	695	16,723	1,246	74.5
2023	Q1	124	4,726	548	116.1	1,420	1,420	331	233.1	1,544	6,146	879	143.1	182	5,513	434	78.8
	Q2	112	2,530	302	119.3	1,172	1,172	267	227.6	1,284	3,702	569	153.6	179	5,021	369	73.5

Open in Excel: Planning Permissions Q2 2023 Table 1 (XLS 14KB)

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Apartments accounted for 57.6% of all new dwelling units granted planning permission in Q2 2023 with 5,021 units approved. There were 3,702 houses granted planning permission in Quarter 2 of 2023. This is the first quarter since Q2 2022 when more apartments than houses have been granted planning permission.

Table 2a Summary of new dwelling units granted planning permission, Q1 2018 - Q2 2023

Table 2a Summary of new dwelling units granted planning permission, Q1 2018 - Q2 2023
Period		Multi- Development Houses	Annual % change	One-off houses	Annual % change	All Houses	Annual % change	Apartments	Annual % change	Total Dwellings (All Houses & Apartments)	Annual % change
2018	Q1	4,367	76.0%	1,391	9.3%	5,758	53.4%	1,867	108.4%	7,625	64.0%
	Q2	3,636	52.6%	1,315	5.4%	4,951	36.4%	1,826	121.9%	6,777	52.2%
	Q3	3,463	45.4%	1,416	2.5%	4,879	29.6%	2,976	205.2%	7,855	65.8%
	Q4	3,017	1.6%	1,359	2.8%	4,376	2.0%	2,306	-12.7%	6,682	-3.6%
	Year	14,483	41.8%	5,481	4.9%	19,964	29.3%	8,975	68.2%	28,939	39.3%
2019	Q1	3,438	-21.3%	1,456	4.7%	4,894	-15.0%	2,378	27.4%	7,272	-4.6%
	Q2	3,549	-2.4%	1,387	5.5%	4,936	-0.3%	4,520	147.5%	9,456	39.5%
	Q3	3,401	-1.8%	1,514	6.9%	4,915	0.7%	5,174	73.9%	10,089	28.4%
	Q4	3,553	17.8%	1,265	-6.9%	4,818	10.1%	6,826	196.0%	11,644	74.3%
	Year	13,941	-3.7%	5,622	2.6%	19,563	-2.0%	18,898	110.6%	38,461	32.9%
2020	Q1	3,227	-6.1%	1,355	-6.9%	4,582	-6.4%	8,500	257.4%	13,082	79.9%
	Q2	2,394	-32.5%	669	-51.8%	3,063	-37.9%	4,208	-6.9%	7,271	-23.1%
	Q3	3,878	14.0%	1,754	15.9%	5,632	14.6%	6,850	32.4%	12,482	23.7%
	Q4	2,918	-17.9%	1,514	19.7%	4,432	-8.0%	5,104	-25.2%	9,536	-18.1%
	Year	12,417	-10.9%	5,292	-5.9%	17,709	-9.5%	24,662	30.5%	42,371	10.2%
2021	Q1	1,428	-55.7%	1,661	22.6%	3,089	-32.6%	3,874	-54.4%	6,963	-46.8%
	Q2	2,100	-12.3%	1,786	167.0%	3,886	26.9%	7,264	72.6%	11,150	53.3%
	Q3	2,383	-38.6%	2,018	15.1%	4,401	-21.9%	7,027	2.6%	11,428	-8.4%
	Q4	3,309	13.4%	2,034	34.3%	5,343	20.6%	8,107	58.8%	13,450	41.0%
	Year	9,220	-25.7%	7,499	41.7%	16,719	-5.6%	26,272	6.5%	42,991	1.5%
2022	Q1	2,606	82.5%	2,081	25.3%	4,687	51.7%	3,776	-2.5%	8,463	21.5%
	Q2	2,692	28.2%	1,840	3.0%	4,532	16.6%	6,842	-5.8%	11,374	2.0%
	Q3	2,749	15.4%	1,647	-18.4%	4,396	-0.1%	2,347	-66.6%	6,743	-41.0%
	Q4	2,483	-25.0%	1,356	-33.3%	3,839	-28.1%	3,758	-53.6%	7,597	-43.5%
	Year	10,530	14.2%	6,924	-7.7%	17,454	4.4%	16,723	-36.3%	34,177	-20.5%
2023	Q1	4,726	81.4%	1,420	-31.8%	6,146	31.1%	5,513	46.0%	11,659	37.8%
	Q2	2,530	-6.0%	1,172	-36.3%	3,702	-18.3%	5,021	-26.6%	8,723	-23.3%

Open in Excel: Planning Permissions Q2 2023 Table 2a (XLS 13KB)

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Table 2b Year to date aggregates of new dwelling units granted planning permission, Q1 2018 - Q2 2023

Planning permission applications granted by type of construction

In total, there were 5,955 applications for planning permissions granted for all developments in Q2 2023. 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, 1,471 were for new construction dwellings, 1,791 for other new constructions, 1,767 for extensions, and 926 permissions were for alterations and conversions.

Of the 1,471 new construction dwellings granted planning permission, 1,172 were one-off houses, 179 were apartments, 112 were multi-development houses, and eight were communal dwellings.

For long labels below use to display on multiple lines	Status
New construction dwellings	1471
New construction other	1791
Extensions	1767
Alterations and conversions	926

For long labels below use to display on multiple lines	Status
Multi-development houses	112
One-off houses	1172
Apartments	179
Communal dwellings	8

Table 3a Summary of planning permissions granted, Q2 2023, classified by region, county and type of development

Table 3a Summary of planning permissions granted, Q2 2023, classified by region, county and type of development
	Number of Permissions					Total Floor Area (000 square metres)¹
Planning Region and County	New Construction Dwellings	New Construction Other	Extensions	Alterations and Conversions	Total	New Construction Dwellings	New Construction Other	Extensions	Total²
Northern and Western	403	277	297	117	1,094	136	81	37	254
Border	237	163	182	58	640	66	15	27	109
Cavan	32	31	40	14	117	10	3	5	18
Donegal	148	70	86	24	328	37	4	15	57
Leitrim	7	8	13	3	31	2	0	3	6
Monaghan	37	24	20	6	87	12	6	2	20
Sligo	13	30	23	11	77	4	2	2	8
West	166	114	115	59	454	69	66	10	146
Galway City	10	13	19	16	58	27	42	1	69
Galway³	92	69	65	28	254	24	14	6	44
Mayo	45	11	12	8	76	15	1	1	16
Roscommon	19	21	19	7	66	5	9	3	16

Southern	617	823	609	259	2,308	361	244	81	687
Mid-West	165	286	175	75	701	82	72	28	182
Clare	73	60	58	20	211	44	5	5	54
Limerick	58	106	67	30	261	29	52	16	97
Tipperary	34	120	50	25	229	8	16	8	32
South-East	186	240	169	91	686	95	92	24	211
Carlow	19	32	19	17	87	4	14	2	20
Kilkenny	42	65	40	11	158	27	18	7	52
Waterford	39	58	42	22	161	8	17	4	29
Wexford	86	85	68	41	280	56	42	11	109
South-West	266	297	265	93	921	184	80	29	294
Cork City	19	43	59	35	156	23	27	4	53
Cork³	187	160	140	23	510	141	40	18	199
Kerry	60	94	66	35	255	20	13	8	41

Eastern and Midland	451	691	861	550	2,553	449	277	116	842
Dublin	146	333	580	437	1,496	292	177	66	535
Dublin City	46	130	208	225	609	25	12	19	56
Dun Laoghaire- Rathdown	51	93	145	121	410	152	58	9	219
Fingal	28	80	122	67	297	83	76	32	190
South Dublin	21	30	105	24	180	33	31	6	70
Mid-East	182	229	198	74	683	118	83	38	238
Louth	31	41	33	13	118	50	3	4	57
Kildare	33	68	41	24	166	30	43	8	80
Meath	71	81	71	31	254	21	31	10	61
Wicklow	47	39	53	6	145	18	6	15	39
Midland	123	129	83	39	374	39	17	12	69
Laois	36	43	29	11	119	14	5	5	24
Longford	11	21	16	4	52	3	2	3	8
Offaly	45	37	17	12	111	13	7	2	22
Westmeath	31	28	21	12	92	10	3	1	14

State	1,471	1,791	1,767	926	5,955	946	603	234	1,784
¹Rounding issues may occur.
²For categories where floor area is a relevant measure.
³Excluding cities.

Open in Excel: Planning Permissions Q2 2023 Table 3a (XLS 16KB)

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Table 3b Summary of planning permissions granted for new houses, apartments and communal dwellings, Q1 2018 - Q2 2023

An annual decrease of 15.6% has been recorded in the number of planning permissions granted for all developments, with 7,058 permissions approved in Q2 2022 compared with 5,955 permissions approved in the current quarter. During the same period an annual decrease of 31.9% was recorded in the number of planning permissions granted for new construction dwellings. There were also annual decreases in approvals for alterations and conversions (-16.2%), other new constructions (-8.1%), and extensions (-4.2%).

Table 3c Summary of planning permissions granted, Q1 2018 - Q2 2023

Table 3c Summary of planning permissions granted, Q1 2018 - Q2 2023
		Number of Permissions					Total Floor Area (000 square metres)¹
Period		New Construction Dwellings	New Construction Other	Extensions	Alterations and Conversions	Total	New Construction Dwellings	New Construction Other	Extensions	Total²
2018	Q1	1,711	1,769	1,658	872	6,010	1,146	571	220	1,938
	Q2	1,639	2,085	2,059	1,040	6,823	996	606	255	1,857
	Q3	1,812	2,250	2,223	1,147	7,432	1,083	648	260	1,991
	Q4	1,678	1,883	1,750	989	6,300	908	494	270	1,672
	Year	6,840	7,987	7,690	4,048	26,565	4,133	2,319	1,006	7,458
2019	Q1	1,821	2,037	1,924	1,152	6,934	1,014	606	204	1,824
	Q2	1,771	2,071	1,969	1,224	7,035	1,211	650	232	2,094
	Q3	1,918	2,385	2,125	1,293	7,721	1,198	808	266	2,272
	Q4	1,594	1,923	1,611	1,049	6,177	1,321	500	222	2,043
	Year	7,104	8,416	7,629	4,718	27,867	4,744	2,564	925	8,233
2020	Q1	1,731	2,041	1,736	1,123	6,631	1,377	801	219	2,397
	Q2	869	1,092	874	554	3,389	751	323	99	1,173
	Q3	2,191	2,537	2,369	1,415	8,512	1,411	687	308	2,405
	Q4	1,842	2,168	1,860	1,147	7,017	1,144	721	193	2,058
	Year	6,633	7,838	6,839	4,239	25,549	4,683	2,532	819	8,033
2021	Q1	1,963	2,032	2,191	1,325	7,511	864	626	220	1,711
	Q2	2,142	2,390	2,477	1,520	8,529	1,224	746	245	2,215
	Q3	2,355	2,471	2,790	1,621	9,237	1,306	846	264	2,416
	Q4	2,355	1,959	1,802	1,106	7,222	1,461	530	209	2,200
	Year	8,815	8,852	9,260	5,572	32,499	4,854	2,748	939	8,542
2022	Q1	2,430	2,066	1,981	1,265	7,742	1,128	549	220	1,897
	Q2	2,161	1,948	1,844	1,105	7,058	1,264	452	214	1,930
	Q3	1,930	1,814	1,922	1,077	6,743	901	555	267	1,724
	Q4	1,615	1,577	1,634	865	5,691	936	520	195	1,652
	Year	8,136	7,405	7,381	4,312	27,234	4,229	2,076	897	7,202
2023	Q1	1,734	1,782	1,616	910	6,042	1,332	585	230	2,147
	Q2	1,471	1,791	1,767	926	5,955	946	603	234	1,784
¹ Rounding issues may occur.
²For categories where floor area is a relevant measure.

Open in Excel: Planning Permissions Q2 2023 Table 3c (XLS 13KB)

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Planning permissions granted by type of development and functional category

There were 5,955 planning permissions granted for all functional categories in Q2 2023. Dwelling units accounted for 61.2% (3,644) of all permissions granted. Of these 3,644 permissions granted, 1,471 were for new constructions, 1,526 were for extensions, and 647 were for alterations and conversions.

Table 4a Planning permissions granted, Q2 2023, classified by region, type of development and functional category

Table 4a Planning permissions granted, Q2 2023, classified by region, type of development and functional category
	Functional Category
Type of Development and Planning Region	Dwellings	Commercial Buildings	Buildings for Agriculture	Industrial Buildings	Govt-, Health and Education	Other Buildings for Social Use	Civil Eng.	Other	Total
NEW CONSTRUCTIONS
Northern and Western	403	11	42	11	5	5	84	119	680
Border	237	5	22	5	2	4	51	74	400
West	166	6	20	6	3	1	33	45	280
Southern	617	31	149	36	19	16	274	298	1,440
Mid-West	165	10	53	5	5	3	93	117	451
South-East	186	10	50	14	6	7	80	73	426
South West	266	11	46	17	8	6	101	108	563
Eastern and Midland	451	51	36	27	15	23	169	370	1,142
Dublin	146	32	2	13	8	12	50	216	479
Mid-East	182	8	19	11	5	6	70	110	411
Midland	123	11	15	3	2	5	49	44	252
State	1,471	93	227	74	39	44	527	787	3,262

EXTENSIONS
Northern and Western	241	20	4	6	19	7	-	-	297
Border	141	14	3	4	15	5	-	-	182
West	100	6	1	2	4	2	-	-	115
Southern	509	30	19	13	26	12	-	-	609
Mid-West	141	14	5	3	9	3	-	-	175
South-East	139	6	6	5	10	3	-	-	169
South West	229	10	8	5	7	6	-	-	265
Eastern and Midland	776	32	6	15	24	8	-	-	861
Dublin	542	20	-	3	11	4	-	-	580
Mid-East	172	9	2	6	8	1	-	-	198
Midland	62	3	4	6	5	3	-	-	83
State	1,526	82	29	34	69	27	-	-	1,767

ALTERATIONS AND CONVERSIONS
Northern and Western	66	34	1	1	6	9	-	-	117
Border	32	13	1	1	5	6	-	-	58
West	34	21	-	-	1	3	-	-	59
Southern	175	49	5	4	17	9	-	-	259
Mid-West	54	13	1	1	6	-	-	-	75
South-East	57	17	2	2	8	5	-	-	91
South West	64	19	2	1	3	4	-	-	93
Eastern and Midland	406	92	2	9	35	6	-	-	550
Dublin	340	65	-	3	26	3	-	-	437
Mid-East	46	18	1	5	3	1	-	-	74
Midland	20	9	1	1	6	2	-	-	39
State	647	175	8	14	58	24	-	-	926

ALL DEVELOPMENTS
Northern and Western	710	65	47	18	30	21	84	119	1,094
Border	410	32	26	10	22	15	51	74	640
West	300	33	21	8	8	6	33	45	454
Southern	1,301	110	173	53	62	37	274	298	2,308
Mid-West	360	37	59	9	20	6	93	117	701
South-East	382	33	58	21	24	15	80	73	686
South-West	559	40	56	23	18	16	101	108	921
Eastern and Midland	1,633	175	44	51	74	37	169	370	2,553
Dublin	1,028	117	2	19	45	19	50	216	1,496
Mid-East	400	35	22	22	16	8	70	110	683
Midland	205	23	20	10	13	10	49	44	374
State	3,644	350	264	122	166	95	527	787	5,955
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Open in Excel: Planning Permissions Q2 2023 Table 4a (XLS 15KB)

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Table 4b Total floor area planned (000 square metres) in new construction and extensions, Q2 2023, classified by region and functional category

Table 4b Total Floor Area Planned (000 square metres)¹in new construction and extensions, Q2 2023, classified by region and functional category
	Functional Category
Type of Development and Planning Region	Dwellings	Commercial Buildings	Buildings for Agriculture	Industrial Buildings	Govt., Health and Education	Other Buildings for Social Use	Total²
NEW CONSTRUCTIONS
Northern and Western	136	38	21	8	7	8	217
Border	66	1	10	2	1	2	82
West	69	37	11	5	6	6	135
Southern	361	36	95	30	66	17	606
Mid-West	82	22	25	12	2	12	154
South-East	95	7	38	8	35	3	187
South West	184	7	32	10	29	2	265
Eastern and Midland	449	134	26	79	27	11	726
Dublin	292	120	2	38	9	7	469
Mid-East	118	11	17	41	13	1	201
Midland	39	2	7	0	6	2	56
State	946	208	142	117	101	36	1,549

EXTENSIONS
Northern and Western	19	4	1	5	8	1	37
Border	12	3	1	4	7	1	27
West	7	2	0	1	1	0	10
Southern	38	8	8	10	15	3	81
Mid-West	11	4	2	3	8	0	28
South-East	10	2	4	3	5	2	24
South West	17	2	2	5	2	1	29
Eastern and Midland	43	33	3	9	27	1	116
Dublin	25	26	-	1	13	0	66
Mid-East	13	7	1	4	13	0	38
Midland	5	0	2	3	2	0	12
State	99	45	12	24	50	4	234

TOTAL NEW CONSTRUCTIONS AND EXTENSIONS
Northern and Western	155	42	22	13	14	9	254
Border	78	4	11	7	8	2	109
West	77	39	11	6	7	6	146
Southern	399	44	103	40	81	20	687
Mid-West	93	26	27	15	10	12	182
South-East	105	9	42	10	40	5	211
South West	202	9	34	15	31	3	294
Eastern and Midland	492	167	29	88	55	12	842
Dublin	317	147	2	39	22	8	535
Mid-East	130	18	19	45	25	1	238
Midland	44	3	8	3	7	3	69
State	1,046	253	154	140	150	40	1,784
¹0 implies less than 500 sq.m. Rounding issues may occur.
²For categories where floor area is a relevant measure.

Open in Excel: Planning Permissions Q2 2023 Table 4b (XLS 14KB)

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Apartment units granted planning permission

There were 5,021 new apartments granted planning permission in Q2 2023.

Dublin had the highest proportion of new apartments approved with 66.7% (3,351) of all apartments granted planning permission in the state, followed by the South-West region with 10.0% (503 apartments), and the Mid-East region with 7.8% (390 apartments). The Eastern and Midland region (Dublin, Mid-East, and Midlands) accounted for 3,784 new apartments, 75.4% of the overall total granted planning permission. The Southern region (Mid-West, South-East, and South-West) accounted for 16.6% (832) of apartment approvals with the Northern and Western region (Border and West) accounting for the remaining 8.1% (405 apartments).

Within the county of Dublin, Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council accounted for 34.8% (1,747) and Fingal County Council accounted for 19.8% (995) of the total number of apartment units granted planning permission in the state in Q2 2023. Outside of Dublin, the highest numbers of apartments granted planning permissions were in counties Cork (458 apartments) and Galway (336 apartments). Counties Leitrim, Roscommon and Tipperary did not grant any planning permissions for apartments during the current quarter.

In Q1 and Q2 2023 Cork City & County and Galway City & County data were populated incorrectly in Table 5b, Figures 5b and 5d. This was corrected on Tuesday 19 September 2023.

Table 5a Apartment units granted planning permission by region, Q1 2020 - Q2 2023

House units granted planning permission

There were 3,702 new houses granted planning permission in Q2 2023.

The South-West region had the highest proportion of new houses approved with 27.6% (1,021) of all houses granted planning permission in the state. This was followed by the Mid-East region with 15.4% (571) of house approvals and the Mid-West region with 13.5% (498 houses). The Southern region (Mid-West, South-East, and South-West) accounted for 2,005 new houses, 54.2% of the total number of new houses granted planning permission. The Eastern and Midland region (Dublin, Mid-East, and Midlands) accounted for 32.1% (1,190) of house approvals with the Northern and Western region (Border and West) accounting for the remaining 13.7% (507 houses).

Cork had the highest proportion of houses granted planning permission at 25.4% (940 houses) in the state in Q2 2023. Dublin had the second highest number of houses granted planning permission at 11.5% (424 houses), followed by Clare at 9.2% (341 houses), Wexford at 8.0% (296 houses), and Louth also at 8.0% (295 houses). Leitrim with seven houses had the lowest proportion of houses granted planning permission, followed by Longford (8 houses) and Carlow (19 houses).

Table 5b Dwelling units granted planning permission by county, Q2 2023

Dwelling units granted by type of application – Strategic Housing Development (SHD) and non-SHD applications

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 Q2 2022, there was an annual decrease of 37.8% (6,342 to 3,943) in the total number of SHD dwelling units approved. There was an annual increase of 31.6% in the number of houses approved under the SHD process, compared with a decrease of 48.5% in the number of SHD apartments approved. In Q2 2023, 45.2% of all planning permissions (2,828 apartments and 1,115 houses) were granted under the SHD process. Apartments accounted for 71.7% of all successful SHD applications. Of the 3,702 houses granted planning permission, 30.1% 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
2022 Q2 - Apartment units	1347	5495
2022 Q2 - Multi-development house units	1845	847
2022 Q3 - Apartment units	1126	1221
2022 Q3 - Multi-development house units	2126	623
2022 Q4 - Apartment units	1008	2750
2022 Q4 - Multi-development house units	1843	640
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

Table 6 Apartment, multi-development and one-off house units granted planning permission by type of application, Q1 2018 - Q2 2023

Table 6 Apartment, multi-development and one-off house units granted planning permission by type of application, Q1 2018 - Q2 2023
		Apartment units			Multi-development house units			One-off houses		Total house units²			Total dwelling units³
Period		SHD	Non-SHD	Total	SHD	Non-SHD	Total	SHD	Non-SHD	SHD	Non-SHD	Total	SHD	Non-SHD	Total
2018	Q1	0	1,867	1,867	0	4,367	4,367	0	1,391	0	5,758	5,758	0	7,625	7,625
	Q2⁴	199	1,627	1,826	668	2,968	3,636	0	1,315	668	4,283	4,951	867	5,910	6,777
	Q3	1,563	1,413	2,976	950	2,513	3,463	0	1,416	950	3,929	4,879	2,513	5,342	7,855
	Q4	1,142	1,164	2,306	611	2,406	3,017	0	1,359	611	3,765	4,376	1,753	4,929	6,682
	Year	2,904	6,071	8,975	2,229	12,254	14,483	0	5,481	2,229	17,735	19,964	5,133	23,806	28,939
2019	Q1	587	1,791	2,378	281	3,157	3,438	0	1,456	281	4,613	4,894	868	6,404	7,272
	Q2	2,266	2,254	4,520	1,160	2,389	3,549	0	1,387	1,160	3,776	4,936	3,426	6,030	9,456
	Q3	3,212	1,962	5,174	659	2,742	3,401	0	1,514	659	4,256	4,915	3,871	6,218	10,089
	Q4	5,514	1,312	6,826	1,758	1,795	3,553	0	1,265	1,758	3,060	4,818	7,272	4,372	11,644
	Year	11,579	7,319	18,898	3,858	10,083	13,941	0	5,622	3,858	15,705	19,563	15,437	23,024	38,461
2020	Q1	6,750	1,750	8,500	1,428	1,799	3,227	1	1,354	1,429	3,153	4,582	8,179	4,903	13,082
	Q2	3,546	662	4,208	1,017	1,377	2,394	0	669	1,017	2,046	3,063	4,563	2,708	7,271
	Q3	5,356	1,494	6,850	1,753	2,125	3,878	0	1,754	1,753	3,879	5,632	7,109	5,373	12,482
	Q4	2,775	2,329	5,104	1,106	1,812	2,918	0	1,514	1,106	3,326	4,432	3,881	5,655	9,536
	Year	18,427	6,235	24,662	5,304	7,113	12,417	1	5,291	5,305	12,404	17,709	23,732	18,639	42,371
2021	Q1	2,774	1,100	3,874	146	1,282	1,428	0	1,661	146	2,943	3,089	2,920	4,043	6,963
	Q2	4,579	2,685	7,264	535	1,565	2,100	0	1,786	535	3,351	3,886	5,114	6,036	11,150
	Q3	5,122	1,905	7,027	598	1,785	2,383	0	2,018	598	3,803	4,401	5,720	5,708	11,428
	Q4	6,658	1,449	8,107	1,024	2,285	3,309	0	2,034	1,024	4,319	5,343	7,682	5,768	13,450
	Year	19,133	7,139	26,272	2,303	6,917	9,220	0	7,499	2,303	14,416	16,719	21,436	21,555	42,991
2022	Q1	2,079	1,697	3,776	556	2,050	2,606	0	2,081	556	4,131	4,687	2,635	5,828	8,463
	Q2	5,495	1,347	6,842	847	1,845	2,692	0	1,840	847	3,685	4,532	6,342	5,032	11,374
	Q3	1,221	1,126	2,347	623	2,126	2,749	0	1,647	623	3,773	4,396	1,844	4,899	6,743
	Q4	2,750	1,008	3,758	640	1,843	2,483	0	1,356	640	3,199	3,839	3,390	4,207	7,597
	Year	11,545	5,178	16,723	2,666	7,864	10,530	0	6,924	2,666	14,788	17,454	14,211	19,966	34,177
2023	Q1	3,703	1,810	5,513	1,905	2,821	4,726	0	1,420	1,905	4,241	6,146	5,608	6,051	11,659
	Q2	2,828	2,193	5,021	1,115	1,415	2,530	0	1,172	1,115	2,587	3,702	3,943	4,780	8,723
¹Planning permissions granted for Strategic Housing Development (SHD) applications may be annulled by the high court.
²Total house units is a combination of multi-development and one off houses.
³Total dwelling untis is a combination of Apartment units and Total house units.
⁴Quarter 2 of 2018 was the first quarter SHD planning permissions were granted.

Open in Excel: Planning Permissions Q2 2023 Table 6 (XLS 14KB)

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Planning Permissions Quarter 2 2023