Planning permissions granted in three of Dublin’s four local authority areas fell by more than half last year.
Figures produced by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show planning permissions fell by 21.4 per cent nationally in 2024. Just 32,401 units were given planning permission compared with 41,225 in 2023.
The fall-off was most pronounced in Dublin, according to an analysis of the CSO data.
Permissions were down 55.1 per cent in Dublin City Council, 55.2 per cent in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, 61 per cent in Fingal County Council, and 19.1 per cent in South Dublin County Council.
‘I have been invited to eight weddings, eight hen parties and now baby showers. It has to stop’
‘It’s time to move on’: Unease is growing among my friends in the tech sector
Ireland’s remote islands: Only 29 apply for €84,000 grant aimed at attracting residents
Val Kilmer, Top Gun and Batman star, dies aged 65
The fall-off in planning permissions in the capital is directly related to a rapid decline in the number of apartments being built in the State – most of which are in Dublin.
Just 13,194 apartments were given planning permission in the State last year compared with 21,487 in 2023, 16,723 in 2022, 26,272 in 2021 and 24,662 in 2020.
Speaking last week, the Minister for Housing James Browne acknowledged apartment building in Dublin was going in the “completely wrong direction” and needs to “drastically” improve if the Government is to meet its overall housing targets.
“We have to examine the taxation regulatory regime and how that affects people’s behaviour. We have to examine every lever. Every lever has to be on the table,” Mr Browne said.
A breakdown of figures from last year shows major differences on a county-by-county basis in planning permissions granted.
Local authority areas that have seen significant falls include Cork City Council (down 36.7 per cent), Wexford (down 35.8 per cent) and Longford (down 65.3 per cent).
The best performing counties are Wicklow, where planning permissions are up by 177.3 per cent, Laois (up by 108.9 per cent) and Kerry County Council (up by 92.7 per cent).
The Construction Industry Federation (CIF) has carried out an analysis of the variance between counties using the CSO figures, which have also been examined by The Irish Times.
CIF director of housing and planning Conor O’Connell said the State will not reach its target of 50,000 new homes annually unless there is a step change in Government policy.
He said there is a “palpable sense of frustration” among builders due to a reduction in the number of viable planning permissions granted, the lack of serviced land and funding difficulties for smaller developers.
“The figures suggest that without the introduction of emergency measures, there is a low likelihood of housing supply increasing in the short to medium term,” he said.
The figures “also highlight the limited opportunities to apply for planning permission in high-growth areas, primarily due to a shortage of zoned land with essential infrastructure such as water and electricity. Additionally, the data underscores the economic challenges of developing apartment buildings in urban locations,” he said.
Housing commencements at 69,000 last year have been one of the few chinks of light for the Government’s housing strategy, although the construction industry says that is down to a rush by developers to avail of supports. The Government has extended the development contribution waiver scheme (where developers pay local authorities for infrastructure) and also Uisce Éireann connections waivers.
Mr O’Connell said there is enough housing units in the pipeline for this year because of a surge in commencements, but the situation looks bleak after that.
The Irish Home Builders Association (IHBA), which is part of the CIF, has identified a shortage of zoned land in the Greater Dublin Area (GDA) and other eastern counties as the biggest impediment to housing targets.
A submission made by the IHBA to Government last month stated there was a shortage of zoned land for 63,000 units in the GDA and 19,000 units elsewhere. The GDA needs another 1,900 hectares of zoned land, the equivalent of almost three Phoenix Parks, according to the IHBA, whose submission was based on research by Goodbody.
The IHBA has also called on Government to provide more supports for small- and medium-enterprise homebuilders in purchasing zoned land for development.
The association claims that most SME builders do not have sufficient equity to purchase zoned land, which can sometimes be 40 per cent of the purchase price. It proposes that the Government provide financing to purchase zoned land by way of either a direct grant or a credit guarantee scheme.
In 2024 just 30,330 housing units were completed despite numerous senior figures in Government stating before the election that 40,000 housing units would be delivered by the end of the year.
New homes fell in Kildare by 47.3 per cent and by 43.1 per cent in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown. Offaly (down by 27.9 per cent), Galway City Council (down by 23.5 per cent) and Sligo (down by 22.1 per cent) also saw significant falls.
In terms of completions, Waterford City and County (up by 35.10 per cent) and Limerick City and County (up by 28.7 per cent) were the best performers.
The number of housing units that commenced last year at 69,060 was more than double the 36,259 units that commenced in 2023.
Some 24,495 housing units are being built in the four Dublin local authorities, Dublin City Council (7,865), Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council (3,649), Fingal County Council (8,132) and South Dublin County Council (5,299).
The commuter counties of Meath (4,508), Kildare (4,467), Louth (3,196) and Wicklow (2,224) have also shown strong growth in commencements.
The number of commencements in Galway city (1,152) and Cork city (4,630) have trebled on 2023.
At the other end of the scale, commencements are down by 18.6 per cent in Leitrim and by 39.1 per cent in Carlow, the only local authority areas showing negative growth.
