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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 3 2016

 Number of Dwelling Units
 Houses Apartments Totals
Quarter 3 20152,3453592,704
Quarter 3 20164,3621,4525,814
% change86.0%304.5%115.0%

Dwelling units approved up 115.0% in year

Number of Dwelling Units approved classified by type of unit, Q12015 - Q32016
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In the third quarter of 2016, planning permissions were granted for 5,814 dwelling units, compared with 2,704 units for the same period in 2015, an increase of 115.0%.
 
 
The third quarter figures also show that:
  •  Planning Permissions were granted for 4,362 houses in the third quarter of 2016 and 2,345 in the third quarter of 2015, an increase of 86.0%. 
  •  Planning permissions were granted for 1,452 apartment units, compared with 359 units for the same period in 2015, an increase of 304.5%. 
  •  One-off houses accounted for 19.4% 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 6,126. This compares with 5,009 in the third quarter of 2015, an increase of 22.3%. See Table 1.
  •  Total floor area planned was 1,736 thousand square metres in the third quarter of 2016. Of this, 48.7% was for new dwellings, 36.2% for other new constructions and 15.1% for extensions.  The total floor area planned increased by 28.2% in comparison with the same quarter in 2015. See Table 1.
  •  Planning Permissions for new buildings for Agriculture decreased to 494 this quarter. This compares to 301 permissions in the same quarter of 2015. See Table 3(a).

 

 

X-axis labelPlanning Permissions CivilPlanning Permissions Non-Res Planning Permissions Dwellings
2011689365510586
201282137948569
201380634408204
2014123234989072
2015151940859845
Table A Summary of Planning Permissions granted for new Dwelling Units
             
Period All HousesAnnual % changeof which Multi-Development HousesAnnual % changeof which One-off housesAnnual % changeApartmentsAnnual % change Total Dwellings (All Houses & Apartments)Annual % change
             
2014Q11,446-22%672-38%7740%158-65% 1,604-31%
 Q21,492-0%740-9%75210%114-73% 1,606-17%
 Q31,78342%962122%8210%361130% 2,14452%
 Q41,90537%1,15653%74917%152-6% 2,05732%
 Year6,62610%3,53014%3,0966%785-34% 7,4113%
             
2015Q12,51474%1,606139%90817%699342% 3,213100%
 Q22,63777%1,816145%8219%473315% 3,11094%
 Q32,34532%1,39545%95016%359-1% 2,70426%
 Q42,75445%1,84159%91322%1,263731% 4,01795%
 Year10,25055%6,65889%3,59216%2,794256% 13,04476%
             
2016Q12,5341%1,556-3%9788%557-20% 3,091-4%
 Q22,340-11%1,350-26%99021%80169% 3,1411%
 Q34,36286%3,233132%1,12919%1,452305% 5,814115%
             
Note: Percentages are rounded for tabular purposes        
Table 1 Summary of Planning Permissions granted, Q1 2008 - Q3 2016
            
  Number of Permissions Total Floor Area (000 sq.m )
  New ConstructionExtensionAlteration and ConversionTotal  New ConstructionExtensionTotal1
Period DwellingsOther DwellingsOther
            
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 11,0661,0461,4543353,901 525243206973
 Q 29911,0211,6633724,047 5273212161,065
 Q 31,1281,4921,9424475,009 4945682931,354
 Q 41,0841,5651,4134084,470 6016871801,468
 Year4,2695,1246,4721,56217,427 2,1471,8198954,861
            
2016Q 11,1691,6951,6803704,914 5025222561,280
 Q 21,2031,7581,8494265,236 5544602311,245
 Q 31,4031,9742,1985516,126 8456292621,736
                       
1 For categories where floor area is a relevant measure     
Table 2 Summary of Planning Permissions granted, Q3 2016, 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          
4576115281501,746 17616285422
           
Border20126221973755 699835201
           
Cavan213533190 616932
Donegal76777821252 2118746
Leitrim12213339 0415
Louth36334822139 207936
Monaghan34602314131 947560
Sligo33352412104 136422
           
Midland1051749221392 43351189
           
Laois3358264121 1816236
Longford124412371 37111
Offaly173722379 44513
Westmeath43353211121 188329
           
West15117521756599 652938132
           
Galway City1110352480 90817
Galway266959119271 24191761
Mayo55246312154 1941033
Roscommon194628194 125321
           
Southern and Eastern9461,3631,6704014,380 6694681771,314
           
Dublin1862976261601,269 29119650537
           
Dublin City8214625189568 1427223237
Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown405615836290 658310157
Fingal524812314237 6371283
South Dublin12479421174 2134560
           
Mid-East17417123651632 1685127246
           
Kildare45618213201 6525999
Meath81638322249 731911104
Wicklow48477116182 306743
           
Mid-West11317915434480 544024118
           
Clare4870707195 2616749
Limerick 40535319165 1615537
North Tipperary2556318120 1181231
           
South-East16230023763762 446831143
           
Carlow132830980 33410
Kilkenny31684911159 810522
South Tipperary1959349121 415626
Waterford30695813170 1219941
Wexford69766621232 1621643
           
South-West311416417931,237 11211445271
           
Cork City26305215123 120416
Cork223231128867898 809936215
Kerry53757711216 2015541
           
State1,4031,9742,1985516,126 8456292621,736
           
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, Q3 2016, 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 Western45720214171441611811,068
          
Border20111959816870463
Midland1057516226244279
West1512682413167326
          
Southern and Eastern946742805627193655422,309
          
Dublin186404169439185483
Mid-East17412302744769345
Mid-West1133558224465292
South-East162108413359194462
South West31191071764144129727
          
State1,403944947341235267233,377
          
Extension         
          
Border, Midland and Western3833025175716--528
          
Border161131410156--219
Midland774236---92
West14513943610--217
          
Southern and Eastern1,4037844328033--1,670
          
Dublin55731-6239--626
Mid-East196833179--236
Mid-West124114672--154
South-East18012215136--237
South West346161612207--417
          
State1,786108694913749--2,198
          
Alteration and Conversion         
          
Border, Midland and Western3762582810--150
          
Border123721156--73
Midland472242--21
West21181592--56
          
Southern and Eastern1521494184929--401
          
Dublin7359-8137--160
Mid-East15161298--51
Mid-West5152345--34
South-East93411135--63
South West5025-4104--93
          
State1892119267739--551
          
All Developments         
          
Border, Midland and Western8771122444299301611811,746
          
Border374611112038136870755
Midland1861855111246244392
West31733781149133167599
          
Southern and Eastern2,501301328106156813655424,380
          
Dublin8161304304520391851,269
Mid-East3853634733214769632
Mid-West2422961171394465480
South-East351561061929169194762
South West707501233336151441291,237
          
State3,3784135721482551115267236,126
          
- No permissions
Table 3(b) Total Floor Area Planned (000 sq.m) in new construction and extensions, Q3 2016, 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 Western1761011815162338
        
Border6956714110166
Midland4332810278
West6512304093
        
Southern and Eastern6691851605247241,137
        
Dublin29115722971487
Mid-East16852211112219
Mid-West5462393194
South-East44646592112
South West11212688189226
        
State8451952786763261,475
        
Extension       
        
Border, Midland and Western 261381321385
        
Border1135105135
Midland61122-11
West1092214238
        
Southern and Eastern79171528326177
        
Dublin257-115350
Mid-East132027227
Mid-West931101124
South-East112666031
South West214893045
        
State1063023415210262
        
Total New Construction and Extension       
       
        
Border, Midland and Western2022312629366422
        
        
Border7997224162201
Midland4942932289
West7410252182132
        
Southern and Eastern7482021757979301,314
        
Dublin316163231214537
Mid-East18272231814246
Mid-West638241841118
South-East5585111152143
South West133167617219271
        
State951225301108115361,736
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 2011 - Q3 2016
  
 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)
  
  
                 
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 19772,514454180.6691,606232144.3908908222244.8826996897.2
 Q 29132,637475180.0921,816277152.5821821198241.0734734799.7
 Q 31,0362,345419178.6861,395189135.2950950230242.4853593289.2
 Q 49952,754481174.7821,841259140.5913913222243.5861,26311994.2
 Year3,92110,2501,829178.43296,658956143.63,5923,592873243.03262,79426695.2
                  
2016Q 11,0722,534445175.7941,556209134.2978978236241.8905575090.1
 Q 21,0902,340422180.31001,350188139.0990990234236.61078017188.0
 Q 31,2734,362703161.11443,233434134.21,1291,129269238.41261,45212687.0
                  
                  

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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