Planning Permissions Quarter 3 2022

Headline Table

The number of dwelling units granted planning permission in Quarter 3 2022 was 6,743, of which 4,396 were houses and 2,347 were apartments. There has been a slight decline of 0.1% in the number of house units granted planning permission in Quarter 3 2022, compared with a decrease of 66.6% in the number of apartment units granted planning permission over the same period. There has been a 19.7% increase in the number of houses and a 28.6% decrease in the number of apartments granted planning permission in the first nine months of 2022 compared with the first nine months of 2021. Please see Headline Table.

Dwelling units granted planning permission

In the third quarter of 2022 there were 2,347 apartments granted planning permission. During the same period, 2,749 multi-development houses and 1,647 one-off houses were approved. Please see Figure 1 and Table 5a.

Houses accounted for 65.2% of all new dwelling units granted planning permission in Q3 2022 with 4,396 units approved. There were 2,347 apartments granted planning permission in Quarter 3 of 2022. Similar to Q1 2020 and Q2 2019, more houses than apartments have been granted planning permission. Please see Figure 2 and Tables 1a & 5a.

Planning permissions granted by type of construction

In total, there were 6,743 planning permissions granted for all developments in the third quarter of 2022. Of these permissions, 1,930 were for new construction dwellings, 1,814 for other new constructions, 1,922 for extensions, and 1,077 permissions were for alterations and conversions. Please see Figure 3a and Table 2.

With regards to the 1,930 new construction dwellings granted planning permission, 1,647 were for one-off houses, 158 for apartments, 117 for multi-development houses and eight for communal dwellings. Please see Figure 3b and Tables 5a & 5b.

An annual decrease of 27.0% has been recorded in the number of planning permissions granted for all developments, with 9,237 permissions approved in Quarter 3 2021 compared with 6,743 permissions approved in the current quarter. During the same period an annual decrease of 18.0% in the number of planning permissions granted was recorded for new construction dwellings. There were also annual decreases in approvals of 33.6% in alterations and conversions, 31.1% in extensions, and 26.6% in other new constructions. Please see Figure 3c and Table 2.

Apartments and houses granted planning permission

There were 2,347 new apartments granted planning permission in Q3 2022.

Dublin had the highest proportion of new apartments approved with 59.9% (1,407) of all apartments granted planning permission in the state, followed by the South-West region with 15.8% (370) of apartment approvals, and the Mid-East with 12.8% (301). The Eastern and Midland Region (comprised of the Dublin, Mid-East, and Midland areas) accounted for 1,770 new apartments, 75.4% of the total number of new apartments granted planning permission. The Southern Region (composed of the South-West, South-East, and Mid-West areas) accounted for 22.0% (516) of apartment approvals with the Northern and Western Region (made up of the Border and West areas) accounting for the remaining 2.6% (61) of apartments granted planning permission.

The counties of Mayo, Roscommon, and Leitrim did not grant any planning permissions for apartments during the current quarter. Please see Figure 4a, Tables 6 & 8, and PxStat table BHQ12.

In the third quarter of 2022, there were 4,396 houses granted planning permission. Cork had the highest proportion of houses granted planning permission at 17.4% (763 houses), followed by Wicklow at 11.9% (525 houses) and Kildare at 10.2% (449 houses). Leitrim had the lowest proportion with 13 houses granted planning permission, followed by Longford with 23 houses and Mayo with 26 houses. Please see Figure 4b, Table 8, and PxStat table BHQ12.

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 Quarter 3 2021, there has been an annual decrease of 67.8% (5,720 to 1,844) in the total number of SHD dwelling units approved. There has been a 4.2% annual rise in the number of houses approved under the SHD process in contrast to an annual decrease of 76.2% in the number of SHD apartments approved. In the third quarter of 2022, 27.3% of planning permissions granted (1,221 apartments and 623 houses) were under the SHD process, of which apartments accounted for 66.2% of successful SHD applications. Of the 4,396 houses granted planning permission, 14.2% were under the SHD process. Please see Figure 5 and Table 7.

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.