Users should note that 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 there is currently a backlog of remaining SHD applications before the Bord awaiting decision.
The total number of dwelling units granted planning permission in 2022 fell by 20.5% to 34,177 units from 42,991 units in 2021.
Housing units accounted for 51% of all dwelling units approved in 2022, while apartments made up the remaining 49%.
The number of houses granted planning permission rose by 4.4% on an annual basis to 17,454 housing units in 2022, in contrast with a large decline of 36% in apartment permissions to 16,723 units.
There was an annual rise of 14% in the number of multi-development houses receiving planning permission, compared with a decrease of 8% in one-off houses.
Planning permission was granted for 10,803 apartments across all four Dublin local authorities in 2022, accounting for 65% of all apartments granted planning permission in the state.
In Quarter 4 (Q4) 2022, there was a decrease of almost 44% in the total number of dwelling units approved planning permission at 7,597 units compared with 13,450 units in Q4 2021.
Planning permissions granted for apartment units fell by 54% in Q4 2022 compared with Q4 2021, while there was a decline of 28% in house permissions granted during the same period.
An annual reduction of 21% was recorded in the number of planning permissions granted for all developments, with 5,691 permissions approved in Q4 2022 compared with 7,222 in Q4 2021.
The number of dwelling units granted planning permission in Quarter 4 (Q4) 2022 was 7,597, of which 3,839 were houses and 3,758 were apartments. When compared with Q4 2021, there has been a decrease of 28.1% in the number of house units granted planning permission in Q4 2022, compared with a decrease of 53.6% in the number of apartment units granted planning permission during the same period. There has been a 4.4% increase in the number of houses and a 36.3% decrease in the number of apartments granted planning permission in 2022 compared with 2021. Please see Headline Table.
| Dwelling units granted planning permission, 2021 and 2022 | |||||||||
| Quarter 4 | January - December | ||||||||
| 2021 | 2022 | Change | 2021 | 2022 | Change | ||||
| Multi-development houses | 3,309 | 2,483 | -826 | -25.0% | 9,220 | 10,530 | 1,310 | 14.2% | |
| One-off houses | 2,034 | 1,356 | -678 | -33.3% | 7,499 | 6,924 | -575 | -7.7% | |
| All Houses | 5,343 | 3,839 | -1,504 | -28.1% | 16,719 | 17,454 | 735 | 4.4% | |
| Apartments | 8,107 | 3,758 | -4,349 | -53.6% | 26,272 | 16,723 | -9,549 | -36.3% | |
| Total Dwellings | 13,450 | 7,597 | -5,853 | -43.5% | 42,991 | 34,177 | -8,814 | -20.5% | |
In the fourth quarter of 2022 there were 3,758 apartments granted planning permission. During the same period, 2,483 multi-development houses and 1,356 one-off houses were granted planning permission. Please see Figure 1 and Table 5a.
Houses accounted for 50.5% of all new dwelling units granted planning permission in Q4 2022 with 3,839 units approved. There were 3,758 apartments granted planning permission in Quarter 4 of 2022. Similar to Q3 2022 and Q1 2022, more houses than apartments have been granted planning permission. Please see Figure 2 and Tables 1a & 5a.
In total, there were 5,691 planning permissions granted for all developments in Q4 2022. Of these permissions, 1,615 were for new construction dwellings, 1,577 for other new constructions, 1,634 for extensions, and 865 planning permissions were for alterations and conversions. Please see Figure 3a and Table 2.
Of the 1,615 new construction dwellings granted planning permission, 1,356 permissions were for one-off houses, 148 for apartments, 104 for multi-development houses, and seven for communal dwellings. Please see Figure 3b and Tables 5a & 5b.
| For long labels below use to display on multiple lines | Status |
|---|---|
| New construction dwellings | 1615 |
| New construciton other | 1577 |
| Extensions | 1634 |
| Alterations and conversions | 865 |
| For long labels below use to display on multiple lines | Status |
|---|---|
| Multi-development houses | 104 |
| One-off houses | 1356 |
| Apartments | 148 |
| Communal dwellings | 7 |
In Q4 2022, an annual decrease of 21.2% was recorded in the number of planning permissions granted for all developments, with 5,691 permissions approved in Q4 2022 compared with 7,222 permissions approved in Q4 2021. During the same period, an annual decrease of 31.4% in the number of planning permissions granted was recorded for new construction dwellings. There were also annual decreases in planning approvals of 21.8% in alterations and conversions, 19.5% in other new constructions, and 9.3% in extensions. Please see Figure 3c and Table 2.
In 2022 there were 27,234 planning permissions granted for all developments. Of these permissions, 8,136 were for new construction dwellings, 7,405 for other new constructions, 7,381 for extensions, and 4,312 permissions were for alterations and conversions. Please see Figure 3d and Table 2.
Of the 8,136 new construction dwellings granted planning permission in 2022, 6,924 were for one-off houses, 695 for apartments, 477 for multi-development houses, and 40 permissions for communal dwellings. Please see Figure 3e and Tables 5a & 5b.
| For long labels below use to display on multiple lines | Status |
|---|---|
| New construction dwellings | 8136 |
| New construciton other | 7405 |
| Extensions | 7381 |
| Alterations and conversions | 4312 |
| For long labels below use to display on multiple lines | Status |
|---|---|
| Multi-development houses | 477 |
| One-off houses | 6924 |
| Apartments | 695 |
| Communal dwellings | 40 |
In 2022 an annual decrease of 16.2% was recorded in the number of planning permissions granted for all developments, with 27,234 permissions approved in 2022 compared with 32,499 in 2021. During the same period, an annual decrease of 7.7% was recorded in the number of planning permissions granted for new construction dwellings. There were also annual decreases of 22.6% in approvals in alterations and conversions, 20.3% in extensions, and 16.3% in other new constructions. Please see Figure 3f and Table 2.
There were 16,723 new apartments granted planning permission in 2022.
Dublin had the highest proportion of new apartments approved with 64.6% (10,803) of all apartments granted planning permission in the state, followed by the South-West region with 11.9% (1,989) of apartment approvals, and the Mid-East with 11.8% (1,970). The Eastern and Midland Region (comprised of the Dublin, Mid-East, and Midland areas) accounted for 13,148 new apartments, 78.6% of the total number of new apartments granted planning permission. The Southern Region (composed of the South-West, South-East, and Mid-West areas) accounted for 19.2% (3,216) of apartment approvals. The Northern and Western Region (made up of the Border and West areas) accounted for the remaining 2.1% (359) of apartments granted planning permission. Please see Figure 4a, Table 6, and PxStat table BHQ12.
In 2022, there were 17,454 houses granted planning permission. Cork had the highest proportion of houses granted planning permission at 14.3% (2,495 houses), followed by Dublin at 7.8% (1,353 houses) and Wicklow at 7.4% (1,286 houses). Longford had the lowest proportion with 76 houses granted planning permission, followed by Leitrim with 109 houses and Roscommon with 137 houses. Please see Figure 4b, Table 8b, and PxStat table BHQ12.
Dublin accounted for the highest proportion of dwelling units granted planning permission in both 2021 and 2022. In 2021, Dublin accounted for 20,101 (47%) of all dwelling units granted planning permission, compared with 12,156 units (36%) in 2022. The number of dwelling units granted planning permission in Dublin decreased by 40% between 2021 and 2022. Please see Figure 4c.
| Total Dwelling Units (2021) | Total Dwelling Units (2022) | |
| Border | 1639 | 1719 |
| West | 2284 | 1782 |
| Mid-West | 2834 | 3183 |
| South-East | 3388 | 2982 |
| South-West | 4758 | 4960 |
| Dublin | 20101 | 12156 |
| Mid-East | 5955 | 5752 |
| Midlands | 2032 | 1643 |
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 2022, the number of SHD apartment units approved fell by 39.7% when compared with 2021, while the number of SHD housing units approved rose by 15.8%. SHD apartment units accounted for 69.0% of all apartment units granted planning permission, with standard applications accounting for the remaining 31.0%. In the same period, 10,530 multi-development housing units were granted planning permission, of which 2,666 (25.3%) were Strategic Housing Development applications and 7,864 (74.7%) were standard applications. Please see Figure 5 and Table 7.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 Q1 - Apartment units | 1100 | 2774 |
| 2021 Q1 - Multi-development house units | 1282 | 146 |
| 2021 Q2 - Apartment units | 2685 | 4579 |
| 2021 Q2 - Multi-development house units | 1565 | 535 |
| 2021 Q3 - Apartment units | 1905 | 5122 |
| 2021 Q3 - Multi-development house units | 1785 | 598 |
| 2021 Q4 - Apartment units | 1449 | 6658 |
| 2021 Q4 - Multi-development house units | 2285 | 1024 |
| 2022 Q1 - Apartment units | 1697 | 2079 |
| 2022 Q1 - Multi-development house units | 2050 | 556 |
| 2022 Q2 - Apartment units | 1347 | 5495 |
| 2022 Q2 - Multi-development house units | 1845 | 847 |
| 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 |
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (10 March 2023) released Planning Permissions Quarter 4 and Year 2022.
Commenting on the release, Shane O'Sullivan, Statistician in the Business Statistics Division, said: “In 2022, the total number of dwelling units granted planning permission was 34,177, down 20.5% from 42,991 units in 2021. In Quarter 4 (October, November, and December) 2022, the total number of dwelling units granted planning permission was 7,597, down 44% from 13,450 units in Q4 2021.
Quarterly Comparisons
Apartment units accounted for almost half (49% or 3,758 units) of the total dwelling units granted permission in Q4 2022, a decrease of 54% when compared with 8,107 units which received approval in 2021. There were 25% fewer multi-development houses approved permission in Q4 2022 when compared with Q4 2021. One-off houses showed an annual decrease of 33% from 2,034 units in Q4 2021 to 1,356 units in Q4 2022.
Of the 5,691 planning permissions granted for all developments in Q4 2022, 1,615 were for new construction dwellings, 1,577 for other new constructions, 1,634 for extensions, and 865 permissions were granted for alterations and conversions.
Dublin accounted for 75% (2,816 units) of all apartments approved during Q4 2022. This was followed by Kildare 7% (259 units) and Cork 4.5% (168 units).
In terms of house units granted planning permission in Q4 2022, Waterford had the highest number at 566 units (15%), followed by Dublin with 433 units (11%), and Cork with 385 units (10%).
Of the 3,390 units approved in Q4 2022 under Strategic Housing Development scheme, 81% were for apartments and 19% were for houses.
Annual Comparisons
Apartment units accounted for almost half (49% or 16,723 units) of the total dwelling units granted permission in 2022, a decrease of 36% when compared with 26,272 units which received approval in 2021. There were 8% fewer one-off houses with approved permission in 2022 when compared to a year earlier. In contrast, in 2022 there were 14% more multi-development house units approved than during 2021.
Of the 27,234 planning permissions granted for all developments in 2022, 8,136 were for new construction dwellings, 7,405 for other new constructions, 7,381 for extensions, and 4,312 permissions were granted for alterations and conversions.
Dublin accounted for 65% (10,803 units) of all apartments approved in 2022. This was followed by Cork 11% (1,857 units) and Limerick 4% (718 units).
In terms of house units granted planning permission in 2022, Cork accounted for the largest number of houses with 2,495 units (14%) followed by Dublin with 1,353 units (8%) and Wicklow with 1,286 units (7%).
On an annual basis, the number of units approved (apartments and total houses) under the Strategic Housing Development scheme declined by 34% in 2022."