The number of applications for planning permission granted in the first quarter of this year was up 12.7 per cent over the same period last year.

A total of 7,822 planning permissions were granted in the first quarter compared to 6,942 in the first quarter of 1997. The number of new houses covered by permissions was 9,280, while the number of new apartments was 1,600.

This constitutes a drop in the number of houses and an increase in the number of apartments for which permissions were granted, compared to the first quarter of last year. The 1997 figures were 6,962 units of housing and 2,041 apartment units.

The south-west region had the highest number of permissions during the first quarter of this year, with 1,327, followed by Dublin with 1,289.