Dramatic drop in planning permission approvals

There has been a dramatic fall in the amount of properties granted planning permission in the third quarter of the year when compared with the same period last year, latest figures reveal. 

There was an annual decrease of 41% in the total number of dwelling units approved at 6,743 units in Q3 2022 compared with 11,428 units in Q3 2021, according to figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

Housing units accounted for 65% of all dwelling units approved, while apartments accounted for the remaining 35%.

The number of houses granted planning permission fell slightly by 0.1% on an annual basis to 4,396 housing units, while in contrast, there was a large decline of almost 67% in apartment approvals to 2,347 units.

There was an annual rise of more than 15% in the number of multi-development houses receiving planning permission, compared with a decrease of more than 18% in one-off houses.

Across the four local authorities of Dublin, planning permission was granted for 1,407 apartments in Q3 2022, accounting for almost 60% of all apartments granted planning permission in the state between July and September of this year.

Commenting on the release, Shane O'Sullivan, Statistician in the Business Statistics Division, said: "Planning permission was granted for 1,407 apartments in Dublin in Q3 2022, accounting for 60% of all apartments granted planning approval in the state. During the same period, the West Region - Galway City, Galway, Mayo, and Roscommon - recorded the lowest number of planning permissions approved at 17".

Of the 6,743 planning permissions granted for all developments in Q3 2022, 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.

"There has been a 19.7% increase recorded in the number of houses granted planning permission in the first nine months of 2022 compared with the first nine months of 2021," Mr O'Sullivan added.