There are almost 41,000 dormant or non-activated planning permissions for apartments in the Greater Dublin Area, according to figures from the Building Control Management System (BCMS).
The figures also show that just one in four apartment units granted planning permission since 2020 have commenced construction.
The BCMS is the official Government system that tracks building projects.
The latest data, which goes up to the first half of 2025, indicates that of the 71,619 planning permissions granted for apartments in the eastern and midlands region since 2020, just 19,958 (28 per cent) have commenced construction, leaving 40,669 units in the idle or uncommenced category.
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The industry links the high attrition rate to viability and infrastructural challenges.
The BCMS figures chart the slowdown in apartment construction since 2023.
They show that there were in excess of 35,000 planning applications for apartments in both 2021 and 2022, with 22,446 and 20,809 granted planning.
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However, as interest rates began to rise and margins were squeezed, planning applications for apartments dropped to 12,997 in 2023 and 12,113 in 2024 with planning granted for 10,718 and 6,104 units.
There were 6,408 planning applications in the first half of this year with 2,275 granted.
The acceleration in overall housing supply between 2021 and 2023 was primarily driven by a pickup in apartment construction in the Greater Dublin Area.
The current stagnation is similarly driven by a drop-off in apartment completions.
They fell from 12,000 units to 9,000 last year on the back of higher borrowing costs and viability issues.
To reactivate the sector and entice more investment, the Government has loosened design standards and overhauled the State’s rent control system while introducing a VAT cut on new-build apartment sales.
According to Eurostat, Ireland had the highest rate of people living in houses (89.7 per cent) versus those living in apartments (10.2 per cent) in the European Union in 2022. The EU average was 51.9 per cent versus 47.5 per cent. Dublin City Council, however, maintains that about 35 per cent of the units in its area – as of 2016 – were apartments and that this was comparable with Amsterdam and Copenhagen.
The BCMS figures indicate that since the Government abandoned the strategic housing development system, a fast-track mechanism that became engulfed in legal challenges, planning determination rates have increased.
Under the newer large residential development system, the percentage of determined applications being successful has risen from 60 per cent to 80 per cent on average.
More generally, there were 193,758 planning applications for all housing types in the eastern and midlands region between 2020 and the first half of 2025. Some 49,672 were refused while 123,430 were granted permission.
The Government’s new housing plan – Delivering Homes, Building Communities – aims to deliver 300,000 units by the end of 2030.
