New figures from the Central Statistics Office today show that the number of homes granted planning permission in April, May and June dropped by more than 23% on the same time last year.
The number of homes granted planning permission fell to 8,723 units in the second quarter of 2023 compared with 11,374 units the same time last year.
There was an overall increase of 3% in the total number of homes granted planning permission in the first six months of the year when compared with the same period in 2022.
Apartments accounted for 58% of all dwelling units approved in the second quarter, while housing units made up the remaining 42%.
The number of houses granted planning permission fell by 18% on an annual basis to 3,702 housing units, while apartment approvals were down by 27% to 5,021 units.
The CSO offered a note of caution to today's data, advising that the number of houses and apartments that are granted planning permission can vary significantly if a large development or a number of large developments are approved within the same quarter.
It says that we should not extrapolate long-term trends on the basis of data from a single quarter.
Also, there were changes to the applications processes for Strategic Housing Developments in An Bord Pleanála and that may impact the number of planning permissions granted recently.
The legislation was aimed at addressing the delays in the planning system but it may take time to bed in.
Reacting to the CSO figures, Ian Lawlor, Managing Director of Lotus Investment Group, said Ireland's housing development sector is stuck in planning limbo. He said unless we find a way to put more shovel-ready sites in the market, our lack of supply will continue to stunt housing growth and add to the housing crisis.
"Most of our developer clients would claim they are at below 50% of their annual housebuilding output due to this shortage of shovel-ready sites," Mr Lawlor said. "The problem is planning, planning, planning and within this, the problem is a legislative one… The new planning act, launched in March was aimed at addressing the delays in the planning system but we have yet to see any real evidence of this."
Today's CSO data also show that in the second quarter, there was an annual decrease of more than 36% in the number of one-off houses receiving planning permission, compared with an annual decline of 32% in the first quarter.
The figures show an annual fall of 6% in multi-development houses receiving planning permission in Q2 compared with an annual increase of 81% in Q1.
The CSO said across the four local authorities of Dublin, planning permission was granted for 3,351 apartments, accounting for two-thirds of all apartments granted planning permission in the state between April and June of this year.
More than one in five of all homes granted planning permission in the country in April, May and June were in the Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council local authority area, with 1,747 apartment units and 93 houses.
