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 29.4% in the total number of dwelling units approved in Quarter 3 (Q3) 2025 to 11,142 units, up from 8,611 units when compared with Q3 2024. This was the highest number of units approved since Q4 2023 (11,181).
Houses accounted for 55% of all dwelling units granted planning permission in Q3 2025, while apartments made up the remaining 45%.
In Q3 2025, the number of apartments granted planning permission rose by 51.2% when compared with Q3 2024, while house approvals increased by 15.7%.
The number of multi-development houses receiving planning permission was up by 14.0% annually, from 4,101 units in Q3 2024 to 4,676 units in Q3 2025.
The number of one-off houses receiving planning permission in Q3 2025 rose by 21.6%, up from 1,192 units in Q3 2024 to 1,450 units in Q3 2025.
In Q3 2025, there was an increase of 27.6% in the number of individual planning permissions granted for all developments with 8,541 permissions approved compared with 6,693 permissions in Q3 2024.
Across the four local authorities of Dublin, there was an annual rise of 47.9% in the total number of dwelling units approved in Q3 2025 to 3,132 units. Of these, the number of apartments approved more than doubled (1,293 units to 2,782 units), while in contrast, the number of houses approved was down by 57.5% (824 units to 350 units).
In Q3 2025, there was an annual growth of 59.5% (3,569 to 5,692) in the total number of Strategic Housing Developments (SHD) dwelling units approved, of which the number of apartments approved rose by 97.8%, compared with an increase of 24.7% in the number of houses approved.
The headline table shows the total number of dwelling units (Houses and Apartments) granted planning permission in Quarter 3 (Q3) of 2024 and 2025. It also highlights the annual percentage changes.
| Dwelling units granted planning permission in Quarter 3 of 2024 and 2025 | ||||
| Quarter 3 | ||||
| 2024 | 2025 | Change | ||
| Multi-development houses | 4,101 | 4,676 | 575 | 14.0% |
| One-off houses | 1,192 | 1,450 | 258 | 21.6% |
| All Houses | 5,293 | 6,126 | 833 | 15.7% |
| Apartments | 3,318 | 5,016 | 1,698 | 51.2% |
| Total Dwellings | 8,611 | 11,142 | 2,531 | 29.4% |
In the third quarter (Q3) of 2025 there were 5,016 apartments granted planning permission. During the same period, 4,676 multi-development houses and 1,450 one-off houses were approved.
Houses accounted for 55% of all new dwelling units granted planning permission in Q3 2025 with 6,126 units approved. There were 5,016 apartments granted planning permission in Quarter 3 of 2025.
In total, there were 8,541 applications for planning permissions granted for all developments in Q3 2025. 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, 1,842 were for new construction dwellings, 2,700 for other new constructions, 2,328 for extensions, and 1,671 permissions were for alterations and conversions (See Table 3a & Figure 3a).
Of the 1,842 planning permissions granted for new construction dwellings, 1,450 were for one-off houses, 224 were for apartments, 161 were for multi-development houses, and seven 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 | 1842 |
| New construction other | 2700 |
| Extensions | 2328 |
| Alterations and conversions | 1671 |
| For long labels below use to display on multiple lines | Status |
|---|---|
| Multi-development houses | 161 |
| One-off houses | 1450 |
| Apartments | 224 |
| Communal dwellings | 7 |
An annual increase of 27.6% has been recorded in the number of planning permissions granted for all developments, with 6,693 permissions approved in Q3 2024 compared with 8,541 permissions approved in the current quarter. During the same period, an annual increase of 17.6% was recorded in the number of planning permissions granted for new construction dwellings. There were also annual increases in approvals for other new constructions (+39.9%), extensions (+11.4%), and alterations and conversions (+50.8%).
There were 8,541 planning permissions granted for all functional categories in Q3 2025. Dwelling units accounted for 60.7% (5,188) of all permissions granted. Of these 5,188 permissions granted, 1,842 were for new constructions, 2,028 were for extensions, and 1,318 were for alterations and conversions.
There were 5,016 new apartments granted planning permission in Q3 2025.
Dublin had the highest proportion of new apartments approved with 55.5% (2,782) of all apartments granted planning permission in the state, followed by the South-West region with 18.1% (907 apartments) and the Mid-East region with 12.8% (640 apartments). The Eastern and Midland region (Dublin, Mid-East, and Midlands) accounted for 3,476 new apartments, 69.3% of the overall total granted planning permission. The Southern region (Mid-West, South-East, and South-West) accounted for 24.9% (1,250) of apartment approvals, with the Northern and Western region (Border and West) accounting for the remaining 5.8% (290 apartments).
Within the county of Dublin, Dublin City Council accounted for 29.1% (1,462) and Fingal County Council accounted for 10.4% (520) of the total number of apartment units granted planning permission in the state in Q3 2025. Outside of Dublin, the highest numbers of apartments granted planning permissions were in counties Cork (880 apartments), Meath (274 apartments), and Wicklow (244 apartments). County Laois did not grant any planning permissions for apartments during the current quarter.
There were 6,126 new houses granted planning permission in Q3 2025.
The Mid-East region had the highest proportion of new houses approved with 25.9% (1,589) of all houses granted planning permission in the state. This was followed by the South-West region with 24.7% (1,514) of house approvals and the Border region with 10.4% (639 houses). The Eastern and Midland region (Dublin, Mid-East, and Midlands) accounted for 2,539 new houses, 41.4% of the total number of new houses granted planning permission. The Southern region (Mid-West, South-East, and South-West) accounted for 40.4% (2,473) of house approvals with the Northern and Western region (Border and West) accounting for the remaining 18.2% (1,114 houses).
Cork county had the highest proportion of houses granted planning permission at 23.3% (1,427 houses) in the state in Q3 2025. Wicklow had the second highest number of houses granted planning permission at 10.4% (635 houses), followed by Meath at 8.3% (506 houses). Longford with 15 houses had the lowest proportion of houses granted planning permission, followed by Sligo (36 houses) and Leitrim (42 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 Q3 2024, there was an annual increase of 59.5% (3,569 to 5,692) in the total number of SHD dwelling units approved. There was an annual rise of 24.7% in the number of houses approved under the SHD process and an increase of 97.8% in the number of SHD apartments approved. In Q3 2025, 51.1% of all planning permissions (3,359 apartments and 2,333 houses) were granted under the SHD process. Apartments accounted for almost six in ten (59.0%) successful SHD applications. Of the 6,126 houses granted planning permission, 38.1% (2,333) 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 Q3 - Apartment units | 1620 | 1698 |
| 2024 Q3 - Multi-development house units | 2230 | 1871 |
| 2024 Q4 - Apartment units | 1431 | 1491 |
| 2024 Q4 - Multi-development house units | 2164 | 573 |
| 2025 Q1 - Apartment units | 1936 | 1304 |
| 2025 Q1 - Multi-development house units | 2675 | 1032 |
| 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 |
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (10 December 2025) published Planning Permissions for Quarter 3 (Q3) 2025.
Commenting on the release, Shane O'Sullivan, Statistician in the Housing Division, said: “The number of dwelling units granted planning permission in July, August, and September (Q3) 2025 was 11,142, of which, 6,126 were for houses and 5,016 were for apartments. This was the highest number of units approved since Q4 2023 when dwelling unit approvals totalled 11,181.
The number of apartments approved increased by 51.2% when compared with Q3 2024. The number of houses approved in Q3 2025 rose by 15.7% over the same period. There was an annual rise of 29.4% in the total number of dwelling unit approvals in Q3 2025, following an annual fall of 12.5% in Q2 2025.
Planning Permissions by Type of Dwelling and Location
Dublin had the highest number of apartment units granted planning permission in the state in Q3 2025 at 2,782 apartments or 55% of all apartments and accounted for 6% of house units approved (350). These 3,132 dwelling units approved in Dublin made up more than a quarter (28%) of all dwelling units granted permission in Q3 2025.
During the same period, the Midlands region (Laois, Longford, Offaly, and Westmeath) recorded the lowest number of apartment units (54) granted planning permission. The Mid-East region (Louth, Kildare, Meath, and Wicklow) accounted for the highest number of houses (1,589) granted planning, while the Dublin region recorded the lowest number of houses (350).
Of the 8,541 individual applications for planning permissions granted in Q3 2025, there were 1,842 for new construction dwellings, 2,700 for other new constructions, 2,328 for extensions, and 1,671 permissions were for alterations and conversions."