Users should note that the number of new dwelling units granted planning permission can vary significantly from quarter to quarter if a large development or a number of large developments are approved within the same reference quarter. Users should therefore exercise caution in extrapolating long-term trends on the basis of a single quarter’s data. Additionally, changes to applications processes for Strategic Housing Developments (SHD) and related issues in An Coimisiún Pleanála (formerly An Bord Pleanála) in 2022 may impact the number of planning permissions granted over recent quarters. Users should also note that the backlog of SHD applications which have been both processed and are still before An Coimisiún Pleanála awaiting decision, may also impact the number of planning permissions granted over recent quarters.
There was an increase of 60% in the total number of dwelling units approved in Quarter 2 (Q2) 2026 to 11,912 units, up from 7,447 units when compared with Q2 2025 and the highest number of units approved since Q4 2021 (13,450).
Houses accounted for 53% of all dwelling units granted planning permission in Q2 2026, while apartments made up the remaining 47%.
In Q2 2026, the number of apartments granted planning permission rose by 107% when compared with Q2 2025, while the total number of house approvals was up by 33%.
The number of multi-development houses receiving planning permission was up by 41.5% annually, from 3,565 units in Q2 2025 to 5,046 units in Q2 2026.
The number of one-off houses receiving planning permission in Q2 2026 rose by 6.2%, up from 1,157 units in Q2 2025 to 1,229 units in Q2 2026.
In Q2 2026, there was an increase of 16.2% in the number of individual planning permissions granted for all developments with 8,202 permissions approved compared with 7,058 permissions in Q2 2025.
Across the four local authorities of Dublin, there was an annual increase of 78.5% in the total number of dwelling units approved in Q2 2026 to 3,241 units. Cork had the second largest number of dwelling units approved in Q2 2026 at 3,234 units.
In Q2 2026, there was an annual increase of 157% (2,465 to 6,345) in the total number of Strategic Housing Developments (SHD) dwelling units approved, of which the number of apartments approved rose by 230%, compared with an increase of 85% in the number of houses approved.
The headline table shows the total number of dwelling units (Houses and Apartments) granted planning permission in Quarter 2 (Q2) of 2025 and 2026. It also highlights the annual percentage changes.
| Dwelling units granted planning permission in Quarter 2 of 2025 and 2026 | ||||
| Quarter 2 | Change | |||
| 2025 | 2026 | Units | % | |
| Multi-development houses | 3,565 | 5,046 | 1,481 | 41.5% |
| One-off houses | 1,157 | 1,229 | 72 | 6.2% |
| All Houses | 4,722 | 6,275 | 1,553 | 32.9% |
| Apartments | 2,725 | 5,637 | 2,912 | 106.9% |
| Total Dwellings | 7,447 | 11,912 | 4,465 | 60.0% |
In the second quarter (Q2) of 2026 there were 5,637 apartments granted planning permission. During the same period, 5,046 multi-development houses and 1,229 one-off houses were approved.
Houses accounted for 53% of all new dwelling units granted planning permission in Q2 2026 with 6,275 units approved. There were 5,637 apartments granted planning permission in Quarter 2 of 2026.
In total, there were 8,202 applications for planning permissions granted for all developments in Q2 2026. Applications may relate to a single dwelling or a number of dwellings in the case of multi-unit development applications. Of these applications granted permission, 1,597 were for new construction dwellings, 2,681 for other new constructions, 2,148 for extensions, and 1,776 permissions were for alterations and conversions (See Table 3a & Figure 3a).
Of the 1,597 planning permissions granted for new construction dwellings, 1,229 were for one-off houses, 210 were for apartments, 149 were for multi-development houses, and nine were for communal dwellings (See Tables 1 & 3b and Figure 3b).
| For long labels below use to display on multiple lines | Status |
|---|---|
| New construction dwellings | 1597 |
| New construction other | 2681 |
| Extensions | 2148 |
| Alterations and conversions | 1776 |
| For long labels below use to display on multiple lines | Status |
|---|---|
| Multi-development houses | 149 |
| Apartments | 210 |
| One-off houses | 1229 |
| Communal dwellings | 9 |
An annual increase of 16.2% has been recorded in the number of planning permissions granted for all developments, with 7,058 permissions approved in Q2 2025 compared with 8,202 permissions approved in the current quarter. During the same period, an annual increase of 4.0% was recorded in the number of planning permissions granted for new construction dwellings. There were also annual increases in approvals for other new constructions (+27.4%), extensions (+2.5%), and alterations and conversions (+34.4%).
There were 8,202 planning permissions granted for all functional categories in Q2 2026. Dwelling units accounted for 59.3% (4,860) of all permissions granted. Of these 4,860 permissions granted, 1,597 were for new constructions, 1,875 were for extensions, and 1,388 were for alterations and conversions.
There were 5,637 new apartments granted planning permission in Q2 2026.
Dublin had the highest proportion of new apartments approved with 42.8% (2,412) of all apartments granted planning permission in the State, followed by the South-West region with 31.5% (1,777 apartments) and the Mid-East region with 8.7% (491 apartments). The Eastern and Midland region (Dublin, Mid-East, and Midlands) accounted for 2,968 new apartments, 52.7% of the overall total granted planning permission. The Southern region (Mid-West, South-East, and South-West) accounted for 40.3% (2,269) of apartment approvals, with the Northern and Western region (Border and West) accounting for the remaining 7.1% (400 apartments).
Within the county of Dublin, South Dublin County Council accounted for 20.3% (1,144) and Dublin City Council accounted for 13.1% (736) of the total number of apartment units granted planning permission in the State in Q2 2026. Outside of Dublin, the highest numbers of apartments granted planning permissions were in counties Cork (1,775 apartments), Galway (255 apartments), and Kildare (212 apartments). The lowest number of apartments granted planning permissions during the current quarter were in counties Carlow (one), Roscommon (two), and Kerry (two).
There were 6,275 new houses granted planning permission in Q2 2026.
The South-West region had the highest proportion of new houses approved with 24.5% (1,536) of all houses granted planning permission in the State. This was followed by the Mid-East region with 16.4% (1,031) of house approvals and the Mid-West region with 13.2% (831 houses). The Eastern and Midland region (Dublin, Mid-East, and Midlands) accounted for 2,117 new houses, 33.7% of the total number of new houses granted planning permission. The Southern region (Mid-West, South-East, and South-West) accounted for 49.5% (3,108) of house approvals with the Northern and Western region (Border and West) accounting for the remaining 16.7% (1,050 houses).
Cork had the highest proportion of houses granted planning permission at 23.3% (1,459 houses) in the State in Q2 2026. Dublin had the second highest number of houses granted planning permission at 13.2% (829 houses), followed by Clare at 7.5% (469 houses). Longford with nine houses had the lowest proportion of houses granted planning permission, followed by Roscommon (37 houses) and Leitrim (38 houses).
The Strategic Housing Development (SHD) process is where applications of at least 100 residential units or 200+ student bed spaces can be made directly to An Coimisiún Pleanála.
In comparison with Q2 2025, there was an annual increase of 157.4% (2,465 to 6,345) in the total number of SHD dwelling units approved. There was an annual rise of 85.4% in the number of houses approved under the SHD process and an increase of 230.1% in the number of SHD apartments approved. In Q2 2026, 53.3% of all planning permissions (4,050 apartments and 2,295 houses) were granted under the SHD process. Apartments accounted for almost two-thirds (63.8%) of successful SHD applications. Of the 6,275 houses granted planning permission, 36.6% (2,295) were granted under the SHD process.
Please note: The Strategic Housing Development (SHD) process expired to new applications on 25 February 2022. It has been succeeded by the Large-Scale Residential Development (LRD) scheme. Please see Background Notes.
| X-axis label | Non-Strategic Housing Development units | Strategic Housing Development units |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 Q2 - Apartment units | 1498 | 1227 |
| 2025 Q2 - Multi-development house units | 2327 | 1238 |
| 2025 Q3 - Apartment units | 1657 | 3359 |
| 2025 Q3 - Multi-development house units | 2343 | 2333 |
| 2025 Q4 - Apartment units | 1636 | 1742 |
| 2025 Q4 - Multi-development house units | 2486 | 1086 |
| 2026 Q1 - Apartment units | 2373 | 780 |
| 2026 Q1 - Multi-development house units | 3023 | 534 |
| 2026 Q2 - Apartment units | 1587 | 4050 |
| 2026 Q2 - Multi-development house units | 2751 | 2295 |
Learn about our data and confidentiality safeguards, and the steps we take to produce statistics that can be trusted by all.
Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (17 September 2026) published Planning Permissions for Quarter 2 (Q2) 2026.
Commenting on the release, Shane O'Sullivan, Statistician in the Housing Division, said: “The number of dwelling units granted planning permission in April, May, and June (Q2) 2026 was 11,912, of which 6,275 were for houses and 5,637 were for apartments.
The number of apartments approved increased by 107% when compared with Q2 2025, while the total number of houses approved rose by 33% over the same period. There was an annual rise of 60% in the total number of dwelling unit approvals in Q2 2026, following an annual decline of 1.0% in Q1 2026. The number of dwelling units approved in Q2 2026 (11,912) is the highest since Q4 2021 (13,450 units).
Across the four local authorities of Dublin, there was an annual increase of 78.5% in the total number of dwelling units approved in Q2 2026 to 3,241 units. Of these, the number of apartments approved was up by 95.6% (1,233 units to 2,412 units), while the number of houses approved rose by 42.2% (583 units to 829 units). Cork had the second largest number of dwelling units approved in Q2 2026 at 3,234 units, of which apartments approved rose by 302% (441 units to 1,775 units) and houses approved were up by 92.7% (757 units to 1,459 units).
Planning Permissions by Type of Dwelling and Location
Dublin had the highest number of apartment units granted planning permission in the State in Q2 2026 at 2,412 apartments or 43% of all apartments and accounted for 13% of house units approved (829). These 3,241 dwelling units approved in Dublin made up a quarter (27%) of all dwelling units granted permission in Q2 2026.
Cork had the second largest number of dwelling units approved at 3,234 units, and between Q2 2025 and Q2 2026 the number of apartments approved rose by 302% (441 units to 1,775 units) and houses approved were up by 92.7% (757 units to 1,459 units).
During the same period, the Midlands region (Laois, Longford, Offaly, and Westmeath) recorded the lowest number of apartment units (65) granted planning permission. The South-West region (Cork and Kerry) accounted for the highest number of houses (1,536) granted planning, while the Midlands region recorded the lowest number of houses (257).
Of the 8,202 individual applications for planning permissions granted in Q2 2026, there were 1,597 for new construction dwellings, 2,681 for other new constructions, 2,148 for extensions, and 1,776 permissions were for alterations and conversions."