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Eurostat Planning Permission Data
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For more information on this release:
E-mail: STS_RAP@cso.ie Mary Heanue (+353) 21 453 5714 Sean Hurley (+353) 21 453 5242 Alan Finlay (+353) 21 453 5211
For general information on CSO statistics:
information@cso.ie (+353) 21 453 5000 On-line ISSN 2009-5279
CSO statistical release, , 11am

Planning Permissions

Quarter 4 2013

 Number of Dwelling Units
 Houses Apartments Totals
Quarter 4 20121,4204311,851
Quarter 4 20131,3941621,556
% change-1.8%-62.4%-15.9%

Dwelling units approved down 15.9% in year

Planning Permissions
go to full release
In the fourth quarter of 2013, planning permissions were granted for 1,556 dwelling units, compared with 1,851 units for the same period in 2012, a decrease of 15.9%.
 
 
The fourth quarter figures also show that: 
  • Planning permissions were granted for 1,394 houses in the fourth quarter of 2013 and 1,420 in the fourth quarter of 2012, a decrease of 1.8%. See Table 4
  • Planning permissions were granted for 162 apartment units, compared with 431 units for the same period in 2012, a decrease of 62.4%. See Table 4
  • One-off houses accounted for 41.1% of all new dwelling units granted planning permission this quarter. See Table 4
  • The total number of planning permissions granted for all developments was 3,383.  This compares with 3,320 in the fourth quarter of 2012, a increase of 1.9%. See Table 1
  • Total floor area planned was 751 thousand square meters in the fourth quarter of 2013.  Of this, 39.3% was for new dwellings, 39.5% for other new construction and 21.2% for extensions.  The total floor  area planned decreased by 1.6% in comparison with the same quarter in 2012. See Table 1
  • Planning permissions for new buildings for Agriculture decreased to 102 this quarter.  This compares to 185 permissions in the same quarter of 2012. See Table 3(a)
Annualised Planning Permission data for 2013 is available in Tables 5,6 & 7.
X-axis labelPlanning Permissions CivilPlanning Permissions Non-Res Planning Permissions Dwellings
20092227486818939
20101775384713217
20111741366510586
2012204437948569
2013225734408204
Table 1 Summary of Planning Permissions Granted, Q1 2005 - Q4 2013
            
  Number of Permissions Total Floor Area (000 sq.m )1
  New ConstructionExtensionAlteration and ConversionTotal  New ConstructionExtensionTotal
Period DwellingsOther DwellingsOther
            
2005Q 16,1701,5713,02858611,355 3,2999854274,711
 Q 26,7222,0683,84567213,307 3,7641,4784885,730
 Q 36,4852,1894,47677813,928 3,2191,3275305,076
 Q 45,9571,8713,53365312,014 2,8831,1674274,478
 Year25,3347,69914,8822,68950,604 13,1654,9571,87219,995
            
2006Q 15,8901,8223,57560311,890 2,9991,1514444,595
 Q 25,5952,4944,13766612,892 2,7371,6124754,824
 Q 36,0352,9654,75975614,515 2,9811,7645935,337
 Q 45,2543,1723,88365312,962 2,3741,6974614,532
 Year22,77410,45316,3542,67852,259 11,0916,2241,97319,288
            
2007Q 15,7094,9954,03365115,388 2,9522,2725705,793
 Q 25,6366,2294,75169517,311 3,4092,6686436,719
 Q 3 5,8805,4115,21083717,338 3,1652,7487256,638
 Q 45,0282,7673,84169412,330 2,6801,6265294,835
 Year22,25319,40217,8352,87762,367 12,2069,3142,46723,985
            
2008Q 14,7772,1043,52365111,055 2,6451,3595094,514
 Q 24,7222,0503,74370011,215 2,9011,4254444,770
 Q 34,2531,7744,16671110,904 2,2631,2654703,998
 Q 43,7391,6163,0036198,977 2,0281,1023873,517
 Year17,4917,54414,4352,68142,151 9,8375,1511,81016,799
            
2009Q 13,2751,2312,4994817,486 2,0908704593,419
 Q 22,6891,1582,4055046,756 1,7538722812,906
 Q 32,5051,2182,4334996,655 1,2739152782,466
 Q 41,9119081,8854335,137 8124081791,399
 Year10,3804,5159,2221,91726,034 5,9283,0651,19710,190
            
2010Q 11,7687751,6173594,519 8443031811,328
 Q 21,5137721,9963944,675 7765532321,561
 Q 3 1,6348662,3194535,272 7274152711,412
 Q 41,4327921,7783714,373 514254186955
 Year6,3473,2057,7101,57718,839 2,8611,5258705,256
            
2011Q 11,2777001,6374054,019 5993762021,177
 Q 21,2647211,8663934,244 5604522091,222
 Q 3 1,2718621,8964174,446 465288216969
 Q 49556811,3123353,283 357214137708
 Year4,7672,9646,7111,55015,992 1,9821,3307654,077
            
2012Q 19576951,3393773,368 279283173734
 Q 29428281,5493533,672 284341199824
 Q 39071,0501,6804104,047 312346219877
 Q 48378341,3413083,320 325261177763
 Year3,6433,4075,9091,44814,407 1,1991,2317683,198
            
2013Q18627851,2963323,275 394366169930
 Q27727541,4893533,368 333331170834
 Q39319041,6653753,875 282312229823
 Q47519881,2453993,383 295297159751
 Year3,3163,4315,6951,45913,901 1,3051,3067273,338
            
1 For categories where floor area is a relevant measure   
Table 2 Summary of Planning Permissions granted, Q4 2013, classified by region, county and type of development
           
Planning Region and CountyNumber of Permissions Total Floor Area (000 sq.m)
New Construction  ExtensionAlteration and ConversionTotal New Construction  ExtensionTotal1
Dwellings Other DwellingsOther
           
Border, Midland and West24622528796854 636639167
          
           
Border1089111938356 28431990
           
Cavan10814133 36616
Donegal3920369104 101415
Leitrim149-14 0416
Louth28302619103 625536
Monaghan141817251 47213
Sligo161117751 4015
           
Midland36526018166 912930
           
Laois102525868 24411
Longford7711227 2124
Offaly12812436 3014
Westmeath71212435 27211
           
West1028210840332 26101147
           
Galway City1012212063 3126
Galway24837526143 126322
Mayo4019261196 93416
Roscommon4149330 1124
           
Southern and Eastern5057639583032529 233231120583
           
Dublin105233347126811 10114224268
           
Dublin City4413012177372 3145885
Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown15161035139 190625
Fingal33458126185 3224864
South Dublin13424218115 1973294
           
Mid-East678812051326 34161566
           
Kildare1823372199 44614
Meath35314116123 287540
Wicklow14344214104 36412
           
Mid-West7611512432347 21121548
           
Clare26384310117 83415
Limerick City-413825 -022
Limerick23140297107 85417
North Tipperary193339798 54514
           
South-East11713516244458 41193293
           
Carlow1115141252 3025
Kilkenny243428894 153523
South Tipperary172840792 46515
Waterford City2711424 0044
Waterford2212523473 84417
Wexford4226469123 1161330
           
South-West14019220550587 354233109
           
Cork City1131211578 3036
Cork210210913720368 26312380
Kerry27524715141 710623
           
State75198812453993383 295297159751
           
1 For categories where floor area is a relevant measure      
2 Excluding cities          
- No permissions         
Note: 0 implies less than 500 sq.m        
Table 3(a) Number of Planning Permissions granted, Q4 2013, classified by region, type of development and functional category
          
Functional Category
Type of Development and Planning RegionDwellingsCommercial BuildingsBuildings for AgricultureIndustrial BuildingsGovt-, Health and EducationOther Buildings for Social UseCivil Eng.OtherTotal
          
New Construction         
          
Border, Midland and Western246103011866199471
          
Border1083164442337199
Midland36342-2202188
West10241054-1841184
          
Southern and Eastern50534721517151894211,268
          
Dublin105193116150143338
Mid-East6718-541654155
Mid-West76518-142859191
South-East1174232133963252
South West14052024356102332
          
State751441022625212505201,739
          
Extension         
          
Border, Midland and Western207201592412--287
          
Border9157484--119
Midland3567165--60
West81914103--108
          
Southern and Eastern7603949247016--958
          
Dublin31013-5154--347
Mid-East94523124--120
Mid-West915141103--124
South-East1071025893--162
South West158687242--205
          
State9675964339428--1,245
          
Alteration and Conversion         
          
Border, Midland and Western2044-21317--96
          
Border621-146--38
Midland35-127--18
West1118--74--40
          
Southern and Eastern114102455424--303
          
Dublin6132-3237--126
Mid-East19202163--51
Mid-West87-1115--32
South-East11252-33--44
South West1518--116--50
          
State134146476741--399
          
All Developments         
          
Border, Midland and Western47374452245356199854
          
Border2052923916142337356
Midland74141148142021166
West194311192171841332
          
Southern and Eastern1,37917512544141551894212,529
          
Dublin47664319441250143811
Mid-East1802612423111654326
Mid-West1751732222122859347
South-East2353950101393963458
South West31329289391156102587
          
State1,85224917066186902505203,383
          
- No permissions         
Table 3(b) Total Floor Area Planned (000 sq.m) in new construction and extensions, Q4 2013, classified by region and functional category
 Functional Category
Type of Development and Planning RegionDwellingsCommercial BuildingsBuildings for AgricultureIndustrial BuildingsGovt., Health and EducationOther Buildings for Social UseTotal1
        
New Construction       
        
Border, Midland and Western6362512221129
       
 28121317171
Border9417-022
Midland261325-36
West       
 233766550356464
Southern and Eastern       
 10169149211243
Dublin3407-8251
Mid-East2118-1133
Mid-West4131510161
South-East3523405176
South West       
 295829062577592
State       
        
Extension       
        
Border, Midland and Western 132867239
       
 61525019
Border3130119
Midland51041111
West       
 4752017293120
Southern and Eastern       
 152-43124
Dublin71304115
Mid-East71304015
Mid-West71987032
South-East1105511033
South West       
 6072922364159
State       
        
Total New Construction and Extension       
       
 7683418292167
Border, Midland and Western       
       
 34226522190
Border125471130
Midland302366147
West       
 279808567648583
Southern and Eastern       
 11771153242268
Dublin4119012366
Mid-East2821105148
Mid-West4842487193
South-East462385161109
South West       
 35588119859311751
State       
1 For categories where floor area is a relevant measure    
- No permissions    
Note: 0 implies less than 500 sq.m    
Table 4 Summary of Planning Permissions Granted for new houses and apartments, Q1 2009- Q4 2013
  
 All Housesof which Multi-Development Housesof which One-Off HousesApartments
 Number of PermissionsNumber of UnitsFloor Area (000 m2)Average Floor Area per Unit (m2)Number of PermissionsNumber of UnitsFloor Area (000 m2)Average Floor Area per Unit (m2)Number of PermissionsNumber of UnitsFloor Area (000 m2)Average Floor Area per Unit (m2)Number of PermissionsNumber of UnitsFloor Area (000 m2)Average Floor Area per Unit (m2)
  
  
                 
2009Q 13,02510,2561,687164.52827,513995132.42,7432,743692252.42373,92138297.4
 Q 22,4757,7391,273164.52375,501707128.52,2382,238566252.92025,09246791.7
 Q 32,3045,362963179.61963,254434133.32,1082,108529251.11953,22230694.9
 Q 41,7633,457669193.41391,833252137.71,6241,624416256.31371,50713187.0
 Year9,56726,8144,592171.385418,1012,388131.98,7138,7132,203252.877113,7421,28693.6
                  
2010Q 11,6643,585667186.21122,033280137.51,5521,552388249.9921,92516384.5
 Q 21,3953,043548180.0951,743219125.41,3001,300329253.21152,33522897.6
 Q 31,5372,817552196.0941,374192139.41,4431,443361249.9891,82416791.6
 Q 41,3622,159441204.475872122139.71,2871,287319248.2657907190.4
 Year5,95811,6042,208190.33766,022813135.55,5825,5821,397250.33616,87462991.5
                  
2011Q 11,2053,075528171.7781,948246126.21,1271,127282250.36759265109.2
 Q 21,1972,599487187.3711,473204138.81,1261,126282250.7637117098.9
 Q 3 1,2071,887389206.483763111145.91,1241,124278247.55662573117.5
 Q 49071,537302196.34167186128.6866866210249.0436195487.9
 Year4,5169,0981,706187.52734,855647133.44,2434,2431,058249.42292,547263103.2
                  
2012Q 19021,263268212.43439553134.7868868215247.84992780.8
 Q 28751,166257220.04533648143.2830830208251.26224024101.8
 Q 38571,540302196.156739107145.4801801194242.84798885.1
 Q 47881,420283199.43766996143.2751751187249.5464314092.5
 Year3,4225,3891,110206.01722,139305142.43,2503,250805247.82048618093.0
                  
2013Q18181,860345185.7451,087155142.6773773190246.24044846102.1
 Q27271,496280187.143812109134.5684684171249.64043050116.9
 Q38641,252266212.64543363146.6819819203247.5641571276.6
 Q 46941,394270193.654754109144.1640640161252.0531621593.6
 Year3,1036,0021,161193.51873,086436141.42,9162,916725248.61971,197123103.0
                  
Table 5 Summary of Planning Permissions granted, 2013, classified by region, county and type of development
           
Planning Region and CountyNumber of Permissions Total Floor Area (000 sq.m)
New Construction  ExtensionAlteration and ConversionTotal New Construction  ExtensionTotal1
Dwellings Other DwellingsOther
           
Border, Midland and West          
1,2209291,5393904,078 318345202865
           
Border5873967291651,877 153135106394
           
Cavan4624888166 13121541
Donegal27712726953726 742836138
Leitrim19275110107 514524
Louth918314755376 21352783
Monaghan89798410262 25391477
Sligo65569029240 157830
           
Midland19521826771751 5314135229
           
Laois56738622237 13221349
Longford27384713125 105521
Offaly48425914163 12957114
Westmeath64657522226 17191046
           
West4383155431541,450 1126961242
           
Galway City33488854223 10121133
Galway220113222351607 51231994
Mayo1597615827420 40261985
Roscommon45597422200 1281130
           
Southern and Eastern2,0962,5024,1561,0699,823 9879615252,473
           
Dublin3606141,5624512,987 408379109896
           
Dublin City1353176152681,335 1068744237
Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown642444617551 40-2666
Fingal12617829292688 19818927414
South Dublin359520974413 6410312179
           
Mid-East3223145131451,294 1269961286
           
Kildare928516045382 474123111
Meath14711316945474 583621115
Wicklow8311618455438 20221760
           
Mid-West3244104811171,332 8212484290
           
Clare10710715729400 2894178
Limerick City4373731109 -247
Limerick214117116939520 358525145
North Tipperary729511818303 19271461
           
South-East4795266901661,861 197137125459
           
Carlow37356421157 9111132
Kilkenny10414215138435 902522137
South Tipperary6811213122333 18391976
Waterford City418322175 1-1718
Waterford2719211117291 28211968
Wexford19512720147570 514137129
           
South-West6116389101902,349 173222146541
           
Cork City368012247285 1151127
Cork2421362576791,438 12318099402
Kerry15419621264626 403636112
           
State3,3163,4315,6951,45913,901 1,3051,3067273,338
           
1 For categories where floor area is a relevant measure      
2 Excluding cities          
- No permissions         
Note: 0 implies less than 500 sq.m        
Table 6 Number of Planning Permissions granted, 2013, classified by region, type of development and functional category
          
Functional Category
Type of Development and Planning RegionDwellingsCommercial BuildingsBuildings for AgricultureIndustrial BuildingsGovt-, Health and EducationOther Buildings for Social UseCivil Eng.OtherTotal
          
New Construction         
          
Border, Midland and Western1220602094439502093182149
          
Border5872110321152279135983
Midland19574777146373413
West438325916171467110753
          
Southern and Eastern2,0961283977196805971,1334,598
          
Dublin36057821327142347974
Mid-East32211443191568154636
Mid-West324149616141990161734
South-East47917139116171352011,005
South West611291102025221622701,249
          
State3,3161886061151351308061,4516,747
          
Extension         
          
Border, Midland and Western1,166106484313046--1,539
          
Border5584718236518--729
Midland177222272514--267
West431378134014--543
          
Southern and Eastern3,30718515179333101--4,156
          
Dublin1,381602198218--1,562
Mid-East395231076018--513
Mid-West3581934114514--481
South-East4783578205128--690
South West6954827229523--910
          
State4,473291199122463147--5,695
          
Alteration and Conversion         
          
Border, Midland and Western731831226546--390
          
Border3184181922--165
Midland634-81211--71
West3665-63413--154
          
Southern and Eastern3424041131177104--1,069
          
Dublin194140-117135--451
Mid-East4454332813--145
Mid-West1344163122--117
South-East2994241819--166
South West6272572915--190
          
State4155871253242150--1,459
          
All Developments         
          
Border, Midland and Western2,4593492581092341422093184,078
          
Border1,176152122529962791351,877
Midland37863692244396373751
West90513467359141671101,450
          
Southern and Eastern5,7457175591816062855971,1339,823
          
Dublin1,9352571051185601423472,987
Mid-East76188571310746681541,294
Mid-West69577131339055901611,332
South-East9861462193575641352011,861
South West1,36814914249149601622702,349
          
State8,2041,0668172908404278061,45113,901
          
- No permissions         
Table 7 Total Floor Area Planned (000 sq.m) in new construction and extensions, 2013, classified by region and functional category
 Functional Category
Type of Development and Planning RegionDwellingsCommercial BuildingsBuildings for AgricultureIndustrial BuildingsGovt., Health and EducationOther Buildings for Social UseTotal1
        
New Construction       
        
Border, Midland and Western       
318301251106119664
        
Border15388111286288
Midland5352493145194
West11218206187181
        
Southern and Eastern987213317133263351948
        
Dublin40817810741089787
Mid-East1264265595225
Mid-West82105714376206
South-East19791041077334
South West1731311930528395
        
State1305244442243324532611
        
Extension       
        
Border, Midland and Western        
791623294410202
        
Border3881020255106
Midland1331124335
West2862715361
        
Southern and Eastern18931717814115525
        
Dublin6410012183109
Mid-East2537220361
Mid-West25312736184
South-East3043431224125
South West45111825452146
        
State268479410718625727
        
Total New Construction and Extension       
       
        
Border, Midland and Western3974714814010528865
       
        
Border1911692315311394
Midland6673495198229
West141232214339242
        
Southern and Eastern1176244388210405502473
        
Dublin473188118612613896
Mid-East1517347798286
Mid-West107136921737290
South-East22713138412911459
South West21823136559711541
        
State1573291536350510783338
1 For categories where floor area is a relevant measure    
- No permissions    
Note: 0 implies less than 500 sq.m    

Background Notes

Scope and Background

Details of the scope and background of this series were given in the March 1973 Statistical Bulletin. The Planning and Development Acts 1963 - 2000, imposes certain requirements on builders, developers and all other persons who propose to build or develop and specifies that a planning permission must be obtained from the relevant Planning Authority.

Local authority building (including housing) is exempt in the case where construction takes place in the Authorities’ own area. Therefore, works undertaken by a local authority outside its functional area come within the scope of the Acts, and need planning permission. Planning permission is also needed for development by the State, except where the consultation procedures provided for in the Local Government (Planning and Development) Act, 1993 obtain (e.g. national security, public safety or order, the administration of justice etc). This series only provides coverage where development is subject to the requirement to obtain planning permission.

This series is also available using the interactive tables in Database Direct on www.cso.ie. 

Regions

The Local Government Act 1991 (Regional Authorities) (Establishment) Order, 1993, which came into operation on 1 January 1994, established eight new Regions. The CSO has adopted these in place of the old Planning Regions as the basis for the regional breakdown of planning permissions data. 

Classification

Planning permissions are classified by type of development, local authority district and by regional authority.  A distinction is made between residential and non-residential building and civil engineering. 

Coverage

Only final grants of permission or approvals are covered, i.e. only works which involve construction.  The following permissions are excluded since they do not entail construction per se:

  • Changes of a technical and business nature as distinct from a building or structural nature;
  • Outline permission;
  • Retention of an existing building;
  • Changes to existing plan;
  • Bye-law permission;
  • Refusals - permissions subsequently granted on appeal by An Bord Pleanála are included.  

Rounding

As the figures for floor area have been rounded there may be slight discrepancies between the sum of the constituent items and the totals shown.

Estimates are included where complete details of floor area size are not available.  

NUTS2 and NUTS3 regions

The regional classifications in this release are based on the NUTS (Nomenclature of Territorial Units) classification used by Eurostat.  The NUTS3 regions correspond to the eight Regional Authorities established under the Local Government Act, 1991 (Regional Authorities) (Establishment) Order, 1993, which came into operation on 1 January 1994.  The NUTS2 regions, which were proposed by Government and agreed by Eurostat in 1999, are groupings of the NUTS3 regions.  The composition of the regions is set out below.

  

Border Midlands and Western

NUTS 2 Region

   

Eastern and Southern

NUTS 2 Region

 
         
Border Cavan

 

Dublin Dublin
  Donegal     Dun Laoghaire - Rathdown   
  Leitrim     Fingal
  Louth     South Dubin
  Monaghan      
  Sligo      
         
Midland Laois   Mid-East Kildare
  Longford     Meath
  Offaly     Wicklow
  Westmeath      
         
 West Galway City   South-East Carlow
  Galway County     Kilkenny
  Mayo     South Tipperary
  Roscommon     Waterford City
        Waterford County
 Mid-West Clare     Wexford
  Limerick City      
  Limerick County      
  North Tipperary      

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