New-house approval up 11%

Figures from the Central Statistics Office show that for the first quarter of 2005, planning permissions were granted for 18,913 new houses, compared with 17,054 units for the same period in 2004, an increase of 10.9%.

The first-quarter figures also show that planning permissions were granted for 25,350 new dwellings. This is a slight decrease when compared to the same quarter of 2004, when there were 25,401 planning permissions granted.