Planning permissions slip 1% as Dublin approvals fall 34% in first quarter
Just 8,092 homes secured planning permission in Q1 2026, with apartment approvals down and Strategic Housing Development permissions falling by almost 44%, despite a sharp rise in overall planning applications.
10 June 2026 | editor@irishrealestate.news
New planning permission data published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) points to a slowing pipeline of future housing supply, with the number of dwelling units granted permission falling by 1% in the first quarter of 2026 despite a significant increase in the overall volume of planning decisions being issued.
According to the CSO, 8,092 dwelling units received planning permission between January and March 2026, down from 8,177 units during the same period in 2025. The decline was driven by a reduction in apartment approvals, which fell by 2.7% year-on-year to 3,153 units, while house approvals remained effectively unchanged at 4,939 units.
The figures highlight a continued shift towards lower-density housing. Houses accounted for 61% of all dwelling units granted planning permission during the quarter, while apartments represented 39%. Within the housing category, one-off rural housing continued to grow strongly, increasing by 12.4% to 1,382 units. In contrast, permissions for multi-development houses fell by 4% from 3,707 to 3,557 units.
The regional picture reveals a particularly significant slowdown in Dublin, where total dwelling approvals fell by 34% year-on-year. Across the four Dublin local authorities, just 1,452 dwelling units received permission during the quarter, compared with 2,199 units a year earlier. Apartment approvals fell by 31.6% to 1,064 units, while house approvals declined by almost 40% to 388 units.
While Dublin recorded the sharpest decline, it still accounted for more than one-third of all apartment permissions nationally. South Dublin County Council approved 433 apartments during the quarter, while Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown accounted for a further 285 units. Outside the capital, Limerick emerged as a significant apartment market with 623 apartment permissions, followed by Cork with 349 units.
The South-West region, comprising Cork and Kerry, led house approvals nationally with 1,045 units, representing more than one-fifth of all houses granted planning permission. Cork alone accounted for 594 house permissions, while Kerry recorded 451.
For developers and contractors, the data presents a mixed picture. While residential approvals softened, planning activity more broadly increased significantly. The number of individual planning permissions granted across all development categories rose by 21.7% to 7,933 permissions, up from 6,520 in Q1 2025. Approvals for new construction dwellings increased by 12%, while permissions for other new construction projects rose by 35.1%. Alterations and conversions recorded the strongest growth, increasing by 45%, while extensions rose by 4%.
The figures also show a continued decline in permissions linked to the former Strategic Housing Development (SHD) process. A total of 1,314 SHD dwelling units were approved during Q1 2026, representing a 43.8% reduction from 2,336 units approved in the same period last year. Apartment permissions under SHD fell by 40.2%, while house approvals dropped by 48.3%. SHD-related approvals accounted for 16.2% of all dwelling units granted permission during the quarter.
The CSO noted that housing permission figures can fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter depending on the timing of large developments and planning decisions. The office also cautioned that the legacy impacts of Strategic Housing Developments and ongoing decisions relating to previously lodged applications continue to influence planning statistics.
Commenting on the release, CSO statistician Shane O’Sullivan said the 8,092 dwelling units approved in Q1 2026 comprised 4,939 houses and 3,153 apartments, with the decline in apartment permissions responsible for the overall reduction in housing approvals. He noted that the annual fall of 1% follows a 19.1% increase recorded in the final quarter of 2025.
For the construction sector, the latest figures suggest that while planning activity remains robust across the wider economy, the pipeline of future residential development is showing signs of stagnation. With housing delivery targets continuing to rise and apartment construction remaining under pressure, the decline in permissions in Dublin and the fall in large-scale residential approvals are likely to be closely watched by developers, contractors, investors and policymakers over the remainder of 2026.
