Planning permission approvals up by 60%, figures show
The number of dwellings granted planning permission is up by 60% annually, according to figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
This was up to 11,912 units, up from 7,447 units that were granted planning permission in May, June and July 2026; this is the highest number approved since 2021.
When it came to the type of dwellings approved, houses made up 53% of all those granted permission, with apartments making up the remaining 47%.
When compared with 2025, apartments that were granted planning permission rose by 107%; the total number of house approvals rose by 33%.
One-off housing developments receiving planning permission in May, June and July rose by 6.2%, up from 1,157 units last year to 1,229 units in the same period.
There was an annual increase of 78.5% in the total number of dwelling units approved in Dublin. Cork had the second largest number of dwelling units approved in May, June and July 2026.
Shane O’Sullivan, Statistician in the Housing Division of the CSO, said: “The number of dwelling units granted planning permission in April, May, and June (Q2) 2026 was 11,912, of which 6,275 were for houses, and 5,637 were for apartments.
“The number of apartments approved increased by 107% when compared with Q2 2025, while the total number of houses approved rose by 33% over the same period. There was an annual rise of 60% in the total number of dwelling unit approvals in Q2 2026, following an annual decline of 1.0% in Q1 2026. The number of dwelling units approved in Q2 2026 (11,912) is the highest since Q4 2021 (13,450 units).
“Across the four local authorities of Dublin, there was an annual increase of 78.5% in the total number of dwelling units approved in Q2 2026 to 3,241 units. Of these, the number of apartments approved was up by 95.6% (1,233 units to 2,412 units), while the number of houses approved rose by 42.2% (583 units to 829 units). Cork had the second-largest number of dwelling units approved in Q2 2026 at 3,234 units, of which apartments approved rose by 302% (441 units to 1,775 units), and houses approved rose by 92.7% (757 units to 1,459 units)."