Planning permission approvals jumped during start of year

CSO figures show between January and March there were 11,659 units approved compared to the 8,463 recorded during the same period in 2022

Fingal County Council on its own accounted for over half of all planning permission approvals during first three months of the year. Picture: Andrew Matthews/PA Wire

There was a big jump in the number of housing units receiving planning permission during the first three months of the year, new figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show.

Between January and March, there were 11,659 units approved compared to the 8,463 recorded during the same period in 2022 representing a 37.8% increase. 

Number of dwelling units approved increased by 37.8% in Quarter 1 2023https://t.co/63yxRY8G90#CSOIreland #Ireland #Housing #HousingConstruction #HouseBuilding #NewDwellings #PlanningPermissions #IrishBusiness #BusinessStatistics #BusinessNews pic.twitter.com/0oBMCkzmoq

— Central Statistics Office Ireland (@CSOIreland) June 9, 2023

Housing units accounted for 53% of these units while apartments accounted for the remaining 47%.

This surge is largely due to the number of multi-development houses receiving planning permission increasing by 81% compared to the same period last year while planning permission being granted for one-off houses dropped 32%.

Fingal County Council is almost single-handedly driving this massive increase, as more than half, 53.4%, of all units granted planning permission — 4,031 apartment units and 2,193 houses — were located within the local authority.

Dublin had the highest proportion of new houses approved with 2,723. Counties along the border had the fewest approvals, with 206, followed by counties in the west, which encompasses Galway, Mayo, and Roscommon, with 370.

The four local authorities in Dublin accounted for 84% of all apartments given planning permission, representing 4,637.

The west region recorded the lowest number of apartment units granted planning permission, with just 17.

Of the total, 6,042 planning permissions granted for all developments during the start of the year, 1,734 were for new construction dwellings, 1,782 for other new constructions, 1,616 for extensions, and 910 permissions were for alterations and conversions.