Planning applications down by more than 30% on the previous year, according to An Bord Pleanála.
However, it said 2008 was a 'very high year' for applications and this year's drop is possibly smaller than would have been expected.
The Bord Chair, John O'Connor, said proper planning would continue to be applied in all cases and there'd be no exceptions for deeply indebted projects expected to be dealt with by the National Asset Management Agency.
An Bord Plenala argues it had been ringing the alarm bells on residential over-zoning in recent years.
Today Mr O'Connor said the unsustainable amount of one-off housing which had been passed during the Celtic Tiger had been ‘quite alarming and the matter would have to be tackled in the years ahead.
An Bord Pleanála also said applicants to its Strategic Infrastructure division were being too vague in proposals, sometimes not even site specific.
It has called for a streamlining of local planning, saying 88 planning authorities for a population of nearly 4.5m people is too many.
