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Planning Permissions Quarter 3 2023

Number of dwelling units approved rose by 43% in Quarter 3 2023

Online ISSN: 2009-5279

CSO statistical publication, 07 December 2023, 11am

Advisory Note

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 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 the Bord awaiting decision, may also impact the number of planning permissions granted over recent quarters.

Key Findings

There was an annual increase of more than 43% in the total number of dwelling units approved in Quarter 3 (Q3) 2023 at 9,662 units compared with 6,743 units in Q3 2022, while in Q2 2023 an annual decrease of 23% was recorded.
The number of dwelling units granted planning permission in Q3 2023 was almost evenly split between houses (4,859) and apartments (4,803).
In Q3 2023, the number of houses granted planning permission rose by more than 10% when compared with Q3 2022, while apartment approvals more than doubled (+105%).
For the nine-month period (January to September 2023) there was an overall growth of 13% in the total number of dwelling units approved when compared with the same period in 2022.
In Q3 2023 there was an annual fall of more than 25% in the number of one-off houses receiving planning permission, compared with an annual decline of 36% in Q2 2023.
There was an annual rise of 32% in multi-development houses receiving planning permission in Q3 2023 compared with an annual decrease of 6% in Q2 2023.
Across the four local authorities of Dublin, planning permission was granted for 3,077 apartments in Q3 2023, accounting for almost two-thirds (64%) of all apartments granted planning permission in the state this quarter.
More than one in four (28%) of all dwelling units granted planning permission in the state in Q3 2023 were in the Dublin City Council local authority area, with 2,270 apartment units and 394 houses.

Statistician's Comment

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (07 December 2023) released Planning Permissions for Quarter 3 (Q3) 2023.

Commenting on the release, Shane O'Sullivan, Statistician in the Business Statistics Division, said: “The number of units granted planning permission in Q3 (July, August, and September) 2023 was 9,662, of which, 4,859 were for houses and 4,803 were for apartments. The number of apartments approved more than doubled (+105%) when compared with Q3 2022. The number of houses approved in Q3 2023 rose by more than 10% over the same period. There was a total annual increase of 43% in the number of dwelling unit approvals in Q3 2023, following an annual decline of 23% in the previous quarter.

Planning Permissions by Type of Dwelling

Planning permission was granted for 3,077 apartments in Dublin in Q3 2023, accounting for almost two-thirds (64%) of all apartments granted planning approval in the state. There were 2,664 dwelling units approved in the Dublin City Council local authority area (2,270 apartments and 394 houses), accounting for more than a quarter (28%) of all dwelling units granted planning permission in Q3 2023. During the same period, the Border Region (Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim, Cavan, and Monaghan) recorded the lowest number of apartment units (84) granted planning permission.

Of the 6,830 individual applications for planning permissions granted in Q3 2023, there were 1,585 for new construction dwellings, 2,097 for other new constructions, 1,918 for extensions, and 1,230 permissions were for alterations and conversions."

Headline Table

The headline table shows the total number of dwelling units (Houses and Apartments) granted planning permission in Quarter 3 (Q3) of 2022 and 2023. It also highlights the annual percentage changes.

Dwelling units granted planning permission in Quarter 3 of 2022 and 2023
	Houses	Apartments	Total
Quarter 3 2022	4,396	2,347	6,743
Quarter 3 2023	4,859	4,803	9,662
Annual % change	10.5%	104.6%	43.3%

Open in Excel: Planning Permissions Q3 2023 Headline Table (XLS 10KB)

Dwelling units granted planning permission

In the third quarter (Q3) of 2023 there were 4,803 apartments granted planning permission. During the same period, 3,632 multi-development houses and 1,227 one-off houses were approved.

Table 1 Summary of planning permissions granted for new houses and apartments, Q1 2018 - Q3 2023

Table 1 Summary of planning permissions granted for new houses and apartments, Q1 2018 - Q3 2023
		Multi-Development Houses				One-Off Houses				All Houses				Apartments
Period		Number of Permissions	Number of Units	Floor Area (000 m²)	Average Floor Area per Unit (m²)	Number of Permissions	Number of Units	Floor Area (000 m²)	Average Floor Area per Unit (m²)	Number of Permissions	Number of Units	Floor Area (000 m²)	Average Floor Area per Unit (m²)	Number of Permissions	Number of Units	Floor Area (000 m²)	Average Floor Area per Unit (m²)
2018	Q1	146	4,367	555	127.1	1,391	1,391	331	238.0	1,537	5,758	886	153.9	161	1,867	159	85.2
	Q2	149	3,636	482	132.6	1,315	1,315	312	237.1	1,464	4,951	794	160.4	161	1,826	166	91.0
	Q3	177	3,463	442	127.6	1,416	1,416	335	236.9	1,593	4,879	777	159.3	210	2,976	265	88.9
	Q4	150	3,017	385	127.7	1,359	1,359	323	237.4	1,509	4,376	708	161.8	160	2,306	190	82.2
	Year	622	14,483	1,865	128.8	5,481	5,481	1,301	237.3	6,103	19,964	3,166	158.6	692	8,975	780	86.9
2019	Q1	157	3,438	445	129.5	1,456	1,456	340	233.7	1,613	4,894	785	160.5	195	2,378	205	86.1
	Q2	169	3,549	461	129.8	1,387	1,387	320	230.7	1,556	4,936	781	158.2	201	4,520	378	83.7
	Q3	168	3,401	434	127.8	1,514	1,514	355	234.5	1,682	4,915	790	160.6	226	5,174	398	76.9
	Q4	149	3,553	438	123.4	1,265	1,265	296	234.2	1,414	4,818	735	152.5	169	6,826	536	78.5
	Year	643	13,941	1,779	127.6	5,622	5,622	1,312	233.3	6,265	19,563	3,090	158.0	791	18,898	1,516	80.2
2020	Q1	171	3,227	408	126.4	1,355	1,355	311	229.6	1,526	4,582	719	156.9	188	8,500	637	75.0
	Q2	92	2,394	284	118.5	669	669	157	234.3	761	3,063	440	143.8	102	4,208	300	71.2
	Q3	160	3,878	464	119.6	1,754	1,754	414	235.8	1,914	5,632	877	155.8	265	6,850	505	73.7
	Q4	129	2,918	333	114.0	1,514	1,514	363	239.5	1,643	4,432	695	156.9	187	5,104	403	78.9
	Year	552	12,417	1,488	119.8	5,292	5,292	1,244	235.1	5,844	17,709	2,732	154.3	742	24,662	1,844	74.8
2021	Q1	104	1,428	175	122.8	1,661	1,661	400	240.7	1,765	3,089	575	186.2	193	3,874	274	70.8
	Q2	120	2,100	249	118.7	1,786	1,786	431	241.1	1,906	3,886	680	175.0	222	7,264	497	68.5
	Q3	120	2,383	287	120.4	2,018	2,018	482	238.9	2,138	4,401	769	174.7	207	7,027	519	73.8
	Q4	128	3,309	398	120.4	2,034	2,034	493	242.4	2,162	5,343	891	166.8	188	8,107	559	68.9
	Year	472	9,220	1,110	120.4	7,499	7,499	1,806	240.8	7,971	16,719	2,915	174.4	810	26,272	1,849	70.4
2022	Q1	132	2,606	311	119.4	2,081	2,081	505	242.6	2,213	4,687	816	174.1	200	3,776	291	77.0
	Q2	124	2,692	322	119.8	1,840	1,840	443	240.6	1,964	4,532	765	168.9	189	6,842	482	70.4
	Q3	117	2,749	319	116.0	1,647	1,647	392	237.8	1,764	4,396	711	161.6	158	2,347	172	73.5
	Q4	104	2,483	302	121.6	1,356	1,356	321	236.7	1,460	3,839	623	162.3	148	3,758	300	80.0
	Year	477	10,530	1,255	119.2	6,924	6,924	1,660	239.8	7,401	17,454	2,915	167.0	695	16,723	1,246	74.5
2023	Q1	124	4,726	548	116.1	1,420	1,420	331	233.1	1,544	6,146	879	143.1	182	5,513	434	78.8
	Q2	112	2,530	302	119.3	1,172	1,172	267	227.6	1,284	3,702	569	153.6	179	5,021	369	73.5
	Q3	146	3,632	409	112.6	1,227	1,227	284	231.4	1,373	4,859	693	142.6	202	4,803	402	83.7

Open in Excel: Planning Permissions Q3 2023 Table 1 (XLS 15KB)

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Houses accounted for 50.3% of all new dwelling units granted planning permission in Q3 2023 with 4,859 units approved. There were 4,803 apartments granted planning permission in Quarter 3 of 2023. This was in contrast to the previous quarter (Q2 2023), when more apartments than houses had been granted planning permission.

Table 2a Summary of new dwelling units granted planning permission, Q1 2018 - Q3 2023

Table 2a Summary of new dwelling units granted planning permission, Q1 2018 - Q3 2023
Period		Multi- Development Houses	Annual % change	One-off houses	Annual % change	All Houses	Annual % change	Apartments	Annual % change	Total Dwellings (All Houses & Apartments)	Annual % change
2018	Q1	4,367	76.0%	1,391	9.3%	5,758	53.4%	1,867	108.4%	7,625	64.0%
	Q2	3,636	52.6%	1,315	5.4%	4,951	36.4%	1,826	121.9%	6,777	52.2%
	Q3	3,463	45.4%	1,416	2.5%	4,879	29.6%	2,976	205.2%	7,855	65.8%
	Q4	3,017	1.6%	1,359	2.8%	4,376	2.0%	2,306	-12.7%	6,682	-3.6%
	Year	14,483	41.8%	5,481	4.9%	19,964	29.3%	8,975	68.2%	28,939	39.3%
2019	Q1	3,438	-21.3%	1,456	4.7%	4,894	-15.0%	2,378	27.4%	7,272	-4.6%
	Q2	3,549	-2.4%	1,387	5.5%	4,936	-0.3%	4,520	147.5%	9,456	39.5%
	Q3	3,401	-1.8%	1,514	6.9%	4,915	0.7%	5,174	73.9%	10,089	28.4%
	Q4	3,553	17.8%	1,265	-6.9%	4,818	10.1%	6,826	196.0%	11,644	74.3%
	Year	13,941	-3.7%	5,622	2.6%	19,563	-2.0%	18,898	110.6%	38,461	32.9%
2020	Q1	3,227	-6.1%	1,355	-6.9%	4,582	-6.4%	8,500	257.4%	13,082	79.9%
	Q2	2,394	-32.5%	669	-51.8%	3,063	-37.9%	4,208	-6.9%	7,271	-23.1%
	Q3	3,878	14.0%	1,754	15.9%	5,632	14.6%	6,850	32.4%	12,482	23.7%
	Q4	2,918	-17.9%	1,514	19.7%	4,432	-8.0%	5,104	-25.2%	9,536	-18.1%
	Year	12,417	-10.9%	5,292	-5.9%	17,709	-9.5%	24,662	30.5%	42,371	10.2%
2021	Q1	1,428	-55.7%	1,661	22.6%	3,089	-32.6%	3,874	-54.4%	6,963	-46.8%
	Q2	2,100	-12.3%	1,786	167.0%	3,886	26.9%	7,264	72.6%	11,150	53.3%
	Q3	2,383	-38.6%	2,018	15.1%	4,401	-21.9%	7,027	2.6%	11,428	-8.4%
	Q4	3,309	13.4%	2,034	34.3%	5,343	20.6%	8,107	58.8%	13,450	41.0%
	Year	9,220	-25.7%	7,499	41.7%	16,719	-5.6%	26,272	6.5%	42,991	1.5%
2022	Q1	2,606	82.5%	2,081	25.3%	4,687	51.7%	3,776	-2.5%	8,463	21.5%
	Q2	2,692	28.2%	1,840	3.0%	4,532	16.6%	6,842	-5.8%	11,374	2.0%
	Q3	2,749	15.4%	1,647	-18.4%	4,396	-0.1%	2,347	-66.6%	6,743	-41.0%
	Q4	2,483	-25.0%	1,356	-33.3%	3,839	-28.1%	3,758	-53.6%	7,597	-43.5%
	Year	10,530	14.2%	6,924	-7.7%	17,454	4.4%	16,723	-36.3%	34,177	-20.5%
2023	Q1	4,726	81.4%	1,420	-31.8%	6,146	31.1%	5,513	46.0%	11,659	37.8%
	Q2	2,530	-6.0%	1,172	-36.3%	3,702	-18.3%	5,021	-26.6%	8,723	-23.3%
	Q3	3,632	32.1%	1,227	-25.5%	4,859	10.5%	4,803	104.6%	9,662	43.3%

Open in Excel: Planning Permissions Q3 2023 Table 2a (XLS 13KB)

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Table 2b Year to date aggregates of new dwelling units granted planning permission, Q1 2018 - Q3 2023

Table 2b Year to date aggregates of new dwelling units granted planning permission, Q1 2018 - Q3 2023
Period		Multi- Development Houses	Annual % change	One-off houses	Annual % change	All Houses	Annual % change	Apartments	Annual % change	Total Dwellings (All Houses & Apartments)	Annual % change
2018	Jan-Mar	4,367	76.0%	1,391	9.3%	5,758	53.4%	1,867	108.4%	7,625	64.0%
	Jan-Jun	8,003	64.6%	2,706	7.3%	10,709	45.0%	3,693	114.8%	14,402	58.2%
	Jan-Sep	11,466	58.3%	4,122	5.6%	15,588	39.8%	6,669	147.6%	22,257	60.8%
	Jan-Dec	14,483	41.8%	5,481	4.9%	19,964	29.3%	8,975	68.2%	28,939	39.3%
2019	Jan-Mar	3,438	-21.3%	1,456	4.7%	4,894	-15.0%	2,378	27.4%	7,272	-4.6%
	Jan-Jun	6,987	-12.7%	2,843	5.1%	9,830	-8.2%	6,898	86.8%	16,728	16.2%
	Jan-Sep	10,388	-9.4%	4,357	5.7%	14,745	-5.4%	12,072	81.0%	26,817	20.5%
	Jan-Dec	13,941	-3.7%	5,622	2.6%	19,563	-2.0%	18,898	110.6%	38,461	32.9%
2020	Jan-Mar	3,227	-6.1%	1,355	-6.9%	4,582	-6.4%	8,500	257.4%	13,082	79.9%
	Jan-Jun	5,621	-19.6%	2,024	-28.8%	7,645	-22.2%	12,708	84.2%	20,353	21.7%
	Jan-Sep	9,499	-8.6%	3,778	-13.3%	13,277	-10.0%	19,558	62.0%	32,835	22.4%
	Jan-Dec	12,417	-10.9%	5,292	-5.9%	17,709	-9.5%	24,662	30.5%	42,371	10.2%
2021	Jan-Mar	1,428	-55.7%	1,661	22.6%	3,089	-32.6%	3,874	-54.4%	6,963	-46.8%
	Jan-Jun	3,528	-37.2%	3,447	70.3%	6,975	-8.8%	11,138	-12.4%	18,113	-11.0%
	Jan-Sep	5,911	-37.8%	5,465	44.7%	11,376	-14.3%	18,165	-7.1%	29,541	-10.0%
	Jan-Dec	9,220	-25.7%	7,499	41.7%	16,719	-5.6%	26,272	6.5%	42,991	1.5%
2022	Jan-Mar	2,606	82.5%	2,081	25.3%	4,687	51.7%	3,776	-2.5%	8,463	21.5%
	Jan-Jun	5,298	50.2%	3,921	13.8%	9,219	32.2%	10,618	-4.7%	19,837	9.5%
	Jan-Sep	8,047	36.1%	5,568	1.9%	13,615	19.7%	12,965	-28.6%	26,580	-10.0%
	Jan-Dec	10,530	14.2%	6,924	-7.7%	17,454	4.4%	16,723	-36.3%	34,177	-20.5%
2023	Jan-Mar	4,726	81.4%	1,420	-31.8%	6,146	31.1%	5,513	46.0%	11,659	37.8%
	Jan-Jun	7,256	37.0%	2,592	-33.9%	9,848	6.8%	10,534	-0.8%	20,382	2.7%
	Jan-Sep	10,888	35.3%	3,819	-31.4%	14,707	8.0%	15,337	18.3%	30,044	13.0%

Open in Excel: Planning Permissions Q3 2023 Table 2b (XLS 12KB)

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Planning permission applications granted by type of construction

In total, there were 6,830 applications for planning permissions granted for all developments in Q3 2023. 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, 1,585 were for new construction dwellings, 2,097 for other new constructions, 1,918 for extensions, and 1,230 permissions were for alterations and conversions.

Of the 1,585 new construction dwellings granted planning permission, 1,227 were one-off houses, 202 were apartments, 146 were multi-development houses, and ten were communal dwellings.

For long labels below use to display on multiple lines	Status
New construction dwellings	1585
New construction other	2097
Extensions	1918
Alterations and conversions	1230

For long labels below use to display on multiple lines	Status
Multi-development houses	146
One-off houses	1227
Apartments	202
Communal dwellings	10

Table 3a Summary of planning permissions granted, Q3 2023, classified by region, county and type of development

Table 3a Summary of planning permissions granted, Q3 2023, classified by region, county and type of development
	Number of Permissions					Total Floor Area (000 square metres)¹
Planning Region and County	New Construction Dwellings	New Construction Other	Extensions	Alterations and Conversions	Total	New Construction Dwellings	New Construction Other	Extensions	Total²
Northern and Western	427	403	366	178	1,374	151	84	41	276
Border	239	232	216	108	795	94	29	27	150
Cavan	26	51	43	25	145	16	3	6	25
Donegal	144	92	103	37	376	48	15	14	77
Leitrim	11	14	20	7	52	3	1	2	6
Monaghan	39	34	17	17	107	13	7	3	23
Sligo	19	41	33	22	115	13	4	3	20
West	188	171	150	70	579	57	55	13	126
Galway City	9	23	22	18	72	6	20	2	28
Galway³	80	88	69	21	258	24	23	6	53
Mayo	80	31	40	21	172	22	7	4	33
Roscommon	19	29	19	10	77	5	5	2	12

Southern	627	882	583	321	2,413	318	159	61	537
Mid-West	209	243	146	100	698	102	49	15	166
Clare	75	46	49	33	203	20	5	5	30
Limerick	75	90	49	31	245	47	22	5	74
Tipperary	59	107	48	36	250	35	22	5	62
South-East	186	243	138	80	647	104	33	15	152
Carlow	25	31	24	17	97	16	1	3	20
Kilkenny	42	101	39	22	204	37	13	4	54
Waterford	30	42	26	8	106	8	4	2	14
Wexford	89	69	49	33	240	43	14	6	64
South-West	232	396	299	141	1,068	112	77	30	220
Cork City	27	41	62	32	162	41	10	3	54
Cork³	156	272	171	44	643	59	61	20	140
Kerry	49	83	66	65	263	12	6	8	26

Eastern and Midland	531	812	969	731	3,043	644	382	79	1,106
Dublin	152	393	612	492	1,649	367	257	39	663
Dublin City	58	185	225	227	695	243	177	16	436
Dun Laoghaire- Rathdown	39	96	162	129	426	50	36	8	94
Fingal	32	64	120	31	247	58	39	8	104
South Dublin	23	48	105	105	281	16	6	7	29
Mid-East	244	289	254	185	972	175	96	23	294
Louth	42	40	43	23	148	60	19	5	83
Kildare	64	108	89	61	322	27	42	8	77
Meath	70	91	54	40	255	71	23	5	99
Wicklow	68	50	68	61	247	17	14	5	36
Midland	135	130	103	54	422	102	29	17	148
Laois	40	28	27	18	113	15	2	4	22
Longford	18	35	17	5	75	16	12	3	31
Offaly	31	33	22	17	103	8	10	4	22
Westmeath	46	34	37	14	131	64	5	5	74

State	1,585	2,097	1,918	1,230	6,830	1,113	626	180	1,919
¹Rounding issues may occur.
²For categories where floor area is a relevant measure.
³Excluding cities.

Open in Excel: Planning Permissions Q3 2023 Table 3a (XLS 16KB)

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Table 3b Summary of planning permissions granted for new houses, apartments and communal dwellings, Q1 2018 - Q3 2023

An annual increase of 1.3% has been recorded in the number of planning permissions granted for all developments, with 6,743 permissions approved in Q3 2022 compared with 6,830 permissions approved in the current quarter. During the same period an annual decrease of 17.9% was recorded in the number of planning permissions granted for new construction dwellings. There were annual increases in approvals for other new constructions (+15.6%) and alterations and conversions (+14.2%), while there was a slight decrease in approvals for extensions (-0.2%).

Table 3c Summary of planning permissions granted, Q1 2018 - Q3 2023

Table 3c Summary of planning permissions granted, Q1 2018 - Q3 2023
		Number of Permissions					Total Floor Area (000 square metres)¹
Period		New Construction Dwellings	New Construction Other	Extensions	Alterations and Conversions	Total	New Construction Dwellings	New Construction Other	Extensions	Total²
2018	Q1	1,711	1,769	1,658	872	6,010	1,146	571	220	1,938
	Q2	1,639	2,085	2,059	1,040	6,823	996	606	255	1,857
	Q3	1,812	2,250	2,223	1,147	7,432	1,083	648	260	1,991
	Q4	1,678	1,883	1,750	989	6,300	908	494	270	1,672
	Year	6,840	7,987	7,690	4,048	26,565	4,133	2,319	1,006	7,458
2019	Q1	1,821	2,037	1,924	1,152	6,934	1,014	606	204	1,824
	Q2	1,771	2,071	1,969	1,224	7,035	1,211	650	232	2,094
	Q3	1,918	2,385	2,125	1,293	7,721	1,198	808	266	2,272
	Q4	1,594	1,923	1,611	1,049	6,177	1,321	500	222	2,043
	Year	7,104	8,416	7,629	4,718	27,867	4,744	2,564	925	8,233
2020	Q1	1,731	2,041	1,736	1,123	6,631	1,377	801	219	2,397
	Q2	869	1,092	874	554	3,389	751	323	99	1,173
	Q3	2,191	2,537	2,369	1,415	8,512	1,411	687	308	2,405
	Q4	1,842	2,168	1,860	1,147	7,017	1,144	721	193	2,058
	Year	6,633	7,838	6,839	4,239	25,549	4,683	2,532	819	8,033
2021	Q1	1,963	2,032	2,191	1,325	7,511	864	626	220	1,711
	Q2	2,142	2,390	2,477	1,520	8,529	1,224	746	245	2,215
	Q3	2,355	2,471	2,790	1,621	9,237	1,306	846	264	2,416
	Q4	2,355	1,959	1,802	1,106	7,222	1,461	530	209	2,200
	Year	8,815	8,852	9,260	5,572	32,499	4,854	2,748	939	8,542
2022	Q1	2,430	2,066	1,981	1,265	7,742	1,128	549	220	1,897
	Q2	2,161	1,948	1,844	1,105	7,058	1,264	452	214	1,930
	Q3	1,930	1,814	1,922	1,077	6,743	901	555	267	1,724
	Q4	1,615	1,577	1,634	865	5,691	936	520	195	1,652
	Year	8,136	7,405	7,381	4,312	27,234	4,229	2,076	897	7,202
2023	Q1	1,734	1,782	1,616	910	6,042	1,332	585	230	2,147
	Q2	1,471	1,791	1,767	926	5,955	946	603	234	1,784
	Q3	1,585	2,097	1,918	1,230	6,830	1,113	626	180	1,919
¹ Rounding issues may occur.
²For categories where floor area is a relevant measure.

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Planning permissions granted by type of development and functional category

There were 6,830 planning permissions granted for all functional categories in Q3 2023. Dwelling units accounted for 60.6% (4,140) of all permissions granted. Of these 4,140 permissions granted, 1,585 were for new constructions, 1,690 were for extensions, and 865 were for alterations and conversions.

Table 4a Planning permissions granted, Q3 2023, classified by region, type of development and functional category

Table 4a Planning permissions granted, Q3 2023, classified by region, type of development and functional category
	Functional Category
Type of Development and Planning Region	Dwellings	Commercial Buildings	Buildings for Agriculture	Industrial Buildings	Govt-, Health and Education	Other Buildings for Social Use	Civil Eng.	Other	Total
NEW CONSTRUCTIONS
Northern and Western	427	24	57	10	8	9	121	174	830
Border	239	16	33	5	2	6	69	101	471
West	188	8	24	5	6	3	52	73	359
Southern	627	30	164	22	16	16	293	341	1,509
Mid-West	209	9	52	7	4	5	85	81	452
South-East	186	10	39	5	3	4	80	102	429
South West	232	11	73	10	9	7	128	158	628
Eastern and Midland	531	49	47	38	22	24	183	449	1,343
Dublin	152	31	-	15	12	10	65	260	545
Mid-East	244	16	30	15	6	9	76	137	533
Midland	135	2	17	8	4	5	42	52	265
State	1,585	103	268	70	46	49	597	964	3,682

EXTENSIONS
Northern and Western	304	16	11	11	17	7	-	-	366
Border	175	11	8	8	10	4	-	-	216
West	129	5	3	3	7	3	-	-	150
Southern	503	27	20	8	16	9	-	-	583
Mid-West	126	5	7	2	2	4	-	-	146
South-East	112	10	4	3	7	2	-	-	138
South West	265	12	9	3	7	3	-	-	299
Eastern and Midland	883	40	4	9	22	11	-	-	969
Dublin	570	19	-	3	11	9	-	-	612
Mid-East	227	13	2	3	7	2	-	-	254
Midland	86	8	2	3	4	-	-	-	103
State	1,690	83	35	28	55	27	-	-	1,918

ALTERATIONS AND CONVERSIONS
Northern and Western	104	34	3	5	22	10	-	-	178
Border	64	17	2	5	12	8	-	-	108
West	40	17	1	-	10	2	-	-	70
Southern	208	60	5	8	27	13	-	-	321
Mid-West	60	19	2	6	9	4	-	-	100
South-East	48	23	2	1	4	2	-	-	80
South West	100	18	1	1	14	7	-	-	141
Eastern and Midland	553	103	2	12	41	20	-	-	731
Dublin	409	51	-	3	20	9	-	-	492
Mid-East	118	35	1	9	12	10	-	-	185
Midland	26	17	1	-	9	1	-	-	54
State	865	197	10	25	90	43	-	-	1,230

ALL DEVELOPMENTS
Northern and Western	835	74	71	26	47	26	121	174	1,374
Border	478	44	43	18	24	18	69	101	795
West	357	30	28	8	23	8	52	73	579
Southern	1,338	117	189	38	59	38	293	341	2,413
Mid-West	395	33	61	15	15	13	85	81	698
South-East	346	43	45	9	14	8	80	102	647
South-West	597	41	83	14	30	17	128	158	1,068
Eastern and Midland	1,967	192	53	59	85	55	183	449	3,043
Dublin	1,131	101	-	21	43	28	65	260	1,649
Mid-East	589	64	33	27	25	21	76	137	972
Midland	247	27	20	11	17	6	42	52	422
State	4,140	383	313	123	191	119	597	964	6,830
- No permissions

Open in Excel: Planning Permissions Q3 2023 Table 4a (XLS 15KB)

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Table 4b Total floor area planned (000 square metres) in new construction and extensions, Q3 2023, classified by region and functional category

Table 4b Total Floor Area Planned (000 square metres)¹in new construction and extensions, Q3 2023, classified by region and functional category
	Functional Category
Type of Development and Planning Region	Dwellings	Commercial Buildings	Buildings for Agriculture	Industrial Buildings	Govt., Health and Education	Other Buildings for Social Use	Total²
NEW CONSTRUCTIONS
Northern and Western	151	15	22	11	29	8	235
Border	94	11	12	1	2	3	123
West	57	4	10	10	27	4	112
Southern	318	24	104	5	18	8	477
Mid-West	102	6	32	0	8	3	151
South-East	104	2	22	1	5	2	136
South West	112	16	50	4	5	3	189
Eastern and Midland	644	216	37	64	44	21	1,027
Dublin	367	191	-	28	23	15	624
Mid-East	175	22	25	26	20	3	271
Midland	102	3	12	10	2	2	131
State	1,113	255	163	80	91	37	1,738

EXTENSIONS
Northern and Western	23	6	2	4	5	1	41
Border	13	5	1	4	4	1	27
West	10	1	0	1	1	0	13
Southern	37	6	7	6	4	1	61
Mid-West	10	0	2	2	1	0	15
South-East	9	3	1	2	1	0	15
South West	18	3	4	2	2	1	30
Eastern and Midland	46	11	3	8	10	2	79
Dublin	25	6	-	1	6	1	39
Mid-East	14	3	2	4	1	0	23
Midland	7	2	1	3	3	-	17
State	106	23	11	18	19	4	180

TOTAL NEW CONSTRUCTIONS AND EXTENSIONS
Northern and Western	174	21	24	15	34	9	276
Border	106	16	13	4	6	4	150
West	67	5	10	11	28	5	126
Southern	354	30	110	10	22	10	537
Mid-West	112	6	34	2	8	4	166
South-East	113	5	23	3	7	2	152
South West	130	19	54	5	7	4	220
Eastern and Midland	690	227	40	72	54	23	1,106
Dublin	392	197	-	28	29	17	663
Mid-East	189	25	26	31	20	4	294
Midland	109	5	13	14	5	2	148
State	1,218	278	174	98	110	41	1,919
¹0 implies less than 500 sq.m. Rounding issues may occur.
²For categories where floor area is a relevant measure.

Open in Excel: Planning Permissions Q3 2023 Table 4b (XLS 14KB)

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Apartment units granted planning permission

There were 4,803 new apartments granted planning permission in Q3 2023.

Dublin had the highest proportion of new apartments approved with 64.1% (3,077) of all apartments granted planning permission in the state, followed by the Mid-East region with 9.5% (455 apartments) and the Mid-West region with 7.8% (375 apartments). The Eastern and Midland region (Dublin, Mid-East, and Midlands) accounted for 3,810 new apartments, 79.3% of the overall total granted planning permission. The Southern region (Mid-West, South-East, and South-West) accounted for 16.4% (788) of apartment approvals with the Northern and Western region (Border and West) accounting for the remaining 4.3% (205 apartments).

Within the county of Dublin, Dublin City Council accounted for 47.3% (2,270) and Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council accounted for 9.1% (438) of the total number of apartment units granted planning permission in the state in Q3 2023. Outside of Dublin, the highest numbers of apartments granted planning permissions were in counties Limerick (290 apartments), Meath (253 apartments), and Cork (242 apartments). Counties Leitrim, Offaly, and Roscommon did not grant any planning permissions for apartments during the current quarter.

Table 5a Apartment units granted planning permission by region, Q1 2020 - Q3 2023

House units granted planning permission

There were 4,859 new houses granted planning permission in Q3 2023.

The Mid-East region had the highest proportion of new houses approved with 20.2% (980) of all houses granted planning permission in the state. This was followed by the Dublin region with 17.7% (861) of house approvals and the South-East region with 12.8% (620 houses). The Eastern and Midland region (Dublin, Mid-East, and Midlands) accounted for 2,402 new houses, 49.4% of the total number of new houses granted planning permission. The Southern region (Mid-West, South-East, and South-West) accounted for 36.2% (1,757) of house approvals with the Northern and Western region (Border and West) accounting for the remaining 14.4% (700 houses).

Dublin had the highest proportion of houses granted planning permission at 17.7% (861 houses) in the state in Q3 2023. Cork had the second highest number of houses granted planning permission at 11.5% (558 houses), followed by Meath at 8.5% (412 houses), Westmeath at 8.0% (391 houses), and Louth at 7.8% (380 houses). Leitrim with twelve houses had the lowest proportion of houses granted planning permission, followed by Roscommon (20 houses) and Waterford (29 houses).

Table 5b Dwelling units granted planning permission by county, Q3 2023

Dwelling units granted by type of application – Strategic Housing Development (SHD) and non-SHD applications

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 Bord Pleanála.

In comparison with Q3 2022, there was an annual increase of 91.5% (1,844 to 3,531) in the total number of SHD dwelling units approved. There was an annual increase of 99.7% in the number of houses approved under the SHD process, compared with a rise of 87.3% in the number of SHD apartments approved. In Q3 2023, 36.5% of all planning permissions (2,287 apartments and 1,244 houses) were granted under the SHD process. Apartments accounted for 64.8% of all successful SHD applications. Of the 4,859 houses granted planning permission, 25.6% (1,244) 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
2022 Q3 - Apartment units	1126	1221
2022 Q3 - Multi-development house units	2126	623
2022 Q4 - Apartment units	1008	2750
2022 Q4 - Multi-development house units	1843	640
2023 Q1 - Apartment units	1810	3703
2023 Q1 - Multi-development house units	2821	1905
2023 Q2 - Apartment units	2193	2828
2023 Q2 - Multi-development house units	1415	1115
2023 Q3 - Apartment units	2516	2287
2023 Q3 - Multi-development house units	2388	1244

Table 6 Apartment, multi-development and one-off house units granted planning permission by type of application, Q1 2018 - Q3 2023

Table 6 Apartment, multi-development and one-off house units granted planning permission by type of application, Q1 2018 - Q3 2023
		Apartment units			Multi-development house units			One-off houses		Total house units²			Total dwelling units³
Period		SHD	Non-SHD	Total	SHD	Non-SHD	Total	SHD	Non-SHD	SHD	Non-SHD	Total	SHD	Non-SHD	Total
2018	Q1	0	1,867	1,867	0	4,367	4,367	0	1,391	0	5,758	5,758	0	7,625	7,625
	Q2⁴	199	1,627	1,826	668	2,968	3,636	0	1,315	668	4,283	4,951	867	5,910	6,777
	Q3	1,563	1,413	2,976	950	2,513	3,463	0	1,416	950	3,929	4,879	2,513	5,342	7,855
	Q4	1,142	1,164	2,306	611	2,406	3,017	0	1,359	611	3,765	4,376	1,753	4,929	6,682
	Year	2,904	6,071	8,975	2,229	12,254	14,483	0	5,481	2,229	17,735	19,964	5,133	23,806	28,939
2019	Q1	587	1,791	2,378	281	3,157	3,438	0	1,456	281	4,613	4,894	868	6,404	7,272
	Q2	2,266	2,254	4,520	1,160	2,389	3,549	0	1,387	1,160	3,776	4,936	3,426	6,030	9,456
	Q3	3,212	1,962	5,174	659	2,742	3,401	0	1,514	659	4,256	4,915	3,871	6,218	10,089
	Q4	5,514	1,312	6,826	1,758	1,795	3,553	0	1,265	1,758	3,060	4,818	7,272	4,372	11,644
	Year	11,579	7,319	18,898	3,858	10,083	13,941	0	5,622	3,858	15,705	19,563	15,437	23,024	38,461
2020	Q1	6,750	1,750	8,500	1,428	1,799	3,227	1	1,354	1,429	3,153	4,582	8,179	4,903	13,082
	Q2	3,546	662	4,208	1,017	1,377	2,394	0	669	1,017	2,046	3,063	4,563	2,708	7,271
	Q3	5,356	1,494	6,850	1,753	2,125	3,878	0	1,754	1,753	3,879	5,632	7,109	5,373	12,482
	Q4	2,775	2,329	5,104	1,106	1,812	2,918	0	1,514	1,106	3,326	4,432	3,881	5,655	9,536
	Year	18,427	6,235	24,662	5,304	7,113	12,417	1	5,291	5,305	12,404	17,709	23,732	18,639	42,371
2021	Q1	2,774	1,100	3,874	146	1,282	1,428	0	1,661	146	2,943	3,089	2,920	4,043	6,963
	Q2	4,579	2,685	7,264	535	1,565	2,100	0	1,786	535	3,351	3,886	5,114	6,036	11,150
	Q3	5,122	1,905	7,027	598	1,785	2,383	0	2,018	598	3,803	4,401	5,720	5,708	11,428
	Q4	6,658	1,449	8,107	1,024	2,285	3,309	0	2,034	1,024	4,319	5,343	7,682	5,768	13,450
	Year	19,133	7,139	26,272	2,303	6,917	9,220	0	7,499	2,303	14,416	16,719	21,436	21,555	42,991
2022	Q1	2,079	1,697	3,776	556	2,050	2,606	0	2,081	556	4,131	4,687	2,635	5,828	8,463
	Q2	5,495	1,347	6,842	847	1,845	2,692	0	1,840	847	3,685	4,532	6,342	5,032	11,374
	Q3	1,221	1,126	2,347	623	2,126	2,749	0	1,647	623	3,773	4,396	1,844	4,899	6,743
	Q4	2,750	1,008	3,758	640	1,843	2,483	0	1,356	640	3,199	3,839	3,390	4,207	7,597
	Year	11,545	5,178	16,723	2,666	7,864	10,530	0	6,924	2,666	14,788	17,454	14,211	19,966	34,177
2023	Q1	3,703	1,810	5,513	1,905	2,821	4,726	0	1,420	1,905	4,241	6,146	5,608	6,051	11,659
	Q2	2,828	2,193	5,021	1,115	1,415	2,530	0	1,172	1,115	2,587	3,702	3,943	4,780	8,723
	Q3	2,287	2,516	4,803	1,244	2,388	3,632	0	1,227	1,244	3,615	4,859	3,531	6,131	9,662
¹Planning permissions granted for Strategic Housing Development (SHD) applications may be annulled by the high court.
²Total house units is a combination of multi-development and one off houses.
³Total dwelling untis is a combination of Apartment units and Total house units.
⁴Quarter 2 of 2018 was the first quarter SHD planning permissions were granted.

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Planning Permissions Quarter 3 2023