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International comparison:
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 Alan Finlay (+353) 21 453 5211 Mairéad Ní Chuill (+353) 21 453 5242
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 2 2015

 Number of Dwelling Units
 Houses Apartments Totals
Quarter 2 20141,4921141,606
Quarter 2 20152,6373733,010
% change76.7%227.2%87.4%

Dwelling units approved up 87.4% in year

Number of Dwelling Units approved classified by type of unit, Q4 2014 - Q2 2015
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In the second quarter of 2015, planning permissions were granted for 3,010 dwelling units, compared with 1,606 units for the same period in 2014, an increase of 87.4%. See Table 4.
 
 
The second quarter figures also show that:
  •  Planning Permissions were granted for 2,637 houses in the second quarter of 2015 and 1,492 in the second quarter of 2014, an increase of 76.7%. See Table 4.
  •  Planning permissions were granted for 373 apartment units, compared with 114 units for the same period in 2014, an increase of 227.2%. See Table 4.
  •  One-off houses accounted for 27.3% of all new dwelling units granted planning permission in this quarter. See Table 4.
  •  The total number of planning permissions granted for all developments was 4,038. This compares with 4,149 in the second quarter of 2014, a decrease of 2.7%. See Table 1.
  •  Total floor area planned was 1,024 thousand square metres in the second quarter of 2015. Of this, 50.3% was for new dwellings, 28.6% for other new constructions and 21.1% for extensions.  The total floor area planned increased by 43.8% in comparison with the same quarter in 2014. See Table 1.
  •  Planning Permissions for new buildings for Agriculture increased to 196 this quarter. This compares to 137 permissions in the same quarter of 2014. See Table 3(a).
X-axis labelPlanning Permissions CivilPlanning Permissions Non-Res Planning Permissions Dwellings
2010692384713217
2011689366510586
201282137948569
201380634408204
2014123234989072
Table 1 Summary of Planning Permissions granted, Q1 2007 - Q2 2015
            
  Number of Permissions Total Floor Area (000 sq.m )1
  New ConstructionExtensionAlteration and ConversionTotal  New ConstructionExtensionTotal
Period DwellingsOther DwellingsOther
            
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
            
2013Q 18627851,2963323,275 394366169930
 Q 27727541,4893533,368 333331170834
 Q 39319041,6653753,875 282312229823
 Q 47519881,2453993,383 295297159751
 Year3,3163,4315,6951,45913,901 1,3051,3067273,338
            
2014Q 18911,0061,3965403,833 336229180744
 Q 28751,0911,5905934,149 296242174712
 Q 39621,1831,7054784,328 366379228974
 Q 48781,0191,2613463,504 368214172754
 Year3,6064,2995,9521,95715,814 1,3661,0647543,184
            
2015Q 11,0651,0411,4543353,895 517229206952
 Q 29901,0131,6633724,038 5152932161,024
            
1 For categories where floor area is a relevant measure
Table 2 Summary of Planning Permissions granted, Q2 2015, 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          
312262411921,077 1006047207
           
Border14013819837513 523720109
           
Cavan173332183 47718
Donegal48287010156 139729
Leitrim8612329 2012
Louth241342887 221326
Monaghan263920792 718226
Sligo171922866 4328
           
Midland65495916189 2081038
           
Laois281517363 110213
Longford11711433 3137
Offaly131512242 3217
Westmeath131219751 35311
           
West1077515439375 28141760
           
Galway City310281051 1012
Galway261517121204 1710633
Mayo361237590 94720
Roscommon7218330 2035
           
Southern and Eastern6787511,2522802,961 415234169818
           
Dublin1531925221601,027 1983558291
           
Dublin City4410020189434 3223064
Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown433213432241 2921243
Fingal453811224219 95219125
South Dublin21227515133 4310759
           
Mid-East1347015927390 783517131
           
Kildare4624524126 2910443
Meath49214214126 2920958
Wicklow3925659138 215429
           
Mid-West8611713124358 24202670
           
Clare37395110137 129828
Limerick 32525812154 761427
North Tipperary172622267 56414
           
South-East14417318637540 449140174
           
Carlow141616349 521228
Kilkenny2948317115 88723
South Tipperary172831379 46415
Waterford3535519130 9382168
Wexford49465715167 1717640
           
South-West16119925432646 705230152
           
Cork City915311267 3025
Cork211513015315413 454123108
Kerry3754705166 2311539
           
State9901,0131,6633724,038 5152932161,024
           
1 For categories where floor area is a relevant measure
2 Excluding cities
 - No permissions
Note: 0 implies less than 500sq m
Table 3(a) Number of Planning Permissions granted, Q2 2015, 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 Western312145911767689574
          
Border1407344234345278
Midland653634-1122114
West1074194132222182
          
Southern and Eastern678231372217271943311,429
          
Dublin1539275229138345
Mid-East1344172151724204
Mid-West864272263739203
South-East1443445375358317
South West1613476675872360
          
State990371963324332704202,003
          
Extension         
          
Border, Midland and Western318281773011--411
          
Border1551385710--198
Midland4714151--59
West116145118---154
          
Southern and Eastern1,0396740206818--1,252
          
Dublin4583114244--522
Mid-East13854372--159
Mid-West10396562--131
South-East13410174147--186
South West20612124173--254
          
State1,3579557279829--1,663
          
Alteration and Conversion         
          
Border, Midland and Western1946-8136--92
          
Border424-153--37
Midland35-422--16
West1217-361--39
          
Southern and Eastern106115510368--280
          
Dublin7462-4182--160
Mid-East8102-34--27
Mid-West5141-31--24
South-East1014148---37
South West9151241--32
          
State1251615184914--372
          
All Developments         
          
Border, Midland and Western649887626502376891,077
          
Border29944421014164345513
Midland11591081131122189
West235352482542222375
          
Southern and Eastern1,82320518252121531943312,961
          
Dublin685102315478291381,027
Mid-East2801923511111724390
Mid-West194273471193739358
South-East28827621325145358540
South West37630601227115872646
          
State2,47229325878171762704204,038
          
- No permissions
Table 3(b) Total Floor Area Planned (000 sq.m) in new construction and extensions, Q2 2015, 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 Western100444722160
        
Border5223301189
Midland201341-28
West281831143
        
Southern and Eastern41529103414019648
        
Dublin198913428233
Mid-East781614114114
Mid-West2431210444
South-East4413332241135 
South West701324132122 
        
State51533148494221808
        
Extension       
        
Border, Midland and Western 2148112247
        
Border92512120
Midland41203010
West71107-17
        
Southern and Eastern59201922472169
        
Dublin2290224158
Mid-East81215017
Mid-West74393026
South-East957611140
South West132744030
        
State79242723594216
        
Total New Construction and Extension       
        
        
Border, Midland and Western1218529143207
        
        
Border61438132109
Midland241543038
West3631037160
        
Southern and Eastern47349123638721818
        
Dublin22018136269291
Mid-East861716264131
Mid-West30615103470
South-East5364038352174
South West833398172152
        
State5945717572101251,024
1 For categories where floor area is a relevant measure     
 - No Permission     
Note: 0 implies less than 500sq m     
Table 4 Summary of Planning Permissions Granted for new houses and apartments, Q1 2010 - Q2 2015
  
 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)
  
  
                 
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
                  
2013Q 18181,860345185.7451,087155142.6773773190246.24044846102.1
 Q 27271,496280187.143812109134.5684684171249.64043050116.9
 Q 38641,252266212.64543363146.6819819203247.5641571276.6
 Q 46941,394270193.654754109144.1640640161252.0531621593.6
 Year3,1036,0021,161193.51873,086436141.42,9162,916725248.61971,197123103.0
                  
2014Q 18351,446296204.661672106157.3774774190245.7491581596.9
 Q 28091,492283190.05774099133.2752752185245.9631141084.9
 Q 38871,783330185.266962134138.9821821197239.6653613186.9
 Q 48041,905352184.5551,156166143.2749749186248.3691521385.3
 Year3,3356,6261,261190.32393,530503142.63,0963,096758244.82467856988.3
                  
2015Q 19772,514454180.6691,606232144.3908908222244.8816416194.5
 Q 29132,637475180.0921,816277152.5821821198241.0723733592.6
                  

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 StatBank on the CSO website. 

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-West Cork City
  Galway County     Cork County
  Mayo     Kerry
  Roscommon      
      South-East Carlow
        Kilkenny
        South Tipperary
        Waterford
        Wexford
         
      Mid -West Clare
        Limerick
        North Tipperary

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