63% decline in planning approvals

The number of planning permissions granted for houses and apartments this year has plummeted by 63% compared to the same period in 2011.

CSO figures show that in the first three months of the year, planning permission was granted for 1,263 houses, compared to 3,075 for the same period last year — a decrease of almost 59%.

In terms of apartments, planning permission was granted for 92 apartments in the first quarter of this year, compared with 592 units for the same period in 2011 — a drop of 84.5%.

One-off houses accounted for 64.1% of all new dwelling units granted planning permission in the quarter, while the total number of planning permissions granted for all developments was 3,368.

This compares with 4,019 in the first quarter of 2011 — a decrease of more than 16%.

At the height of the boom in 2007, 15,388 planning permissions were granted for all developments.

That year, total planning permissions granted peaked at 62,367, with the figure consistently falling away year on year since then to a low of 15,992 last year.

Cork, excluding the city, had the largest amount of planning permissions granted with 380, followed by Dublin City with 266.

Waterford City had the fewest number granted with just 26.

The total floor area planned in the first quarter of 2012 was 734,000sq m.

Of this, 37.8% was for new dwellings, 38.6% for other new constructions, and 23.6% for extensions. This had decreased by 37.6% in comparison with the same quarter in 2011.

Planning permissions for new buildings for agriculture increased to 133 this quarter. This compares to 113 permissions in the same quarter of 2011.