Property Industry Ireland has raised concerns about the noticeable slow pace in granting planning permissions for flats, drawing attention to the substantial issues in financing and feasibility connected to building these types of residential spaces. According to the Central Statistics Office, planning permission given for all different kinds of living units experienced a drop of 28% in 2024’s first quarter.
There was a reduction in the number of approved units to 8,387 from 11,659 units during the same period in 2023.
Planning permission granted for houses experienced a more than 20% decline year-on-year to 4,899, whereas there was a 36.7% reduction in the number of flats approved to 3,488.
Planning approval for 2,003 flats was given in Dublin in 2024’s first quarter, which constituted almost six out of ten total flat planning permissions during this period. However, this figure had dropped by nearly 57% in comparison to 2023’s first quarter.
There was a reported annual drop by over 9% in terms of standalone houses being awarded planning permission. This dipped to 1,288 units for the first quarter of 2024, down from 1,420 units the previous year.
The CSO advised caution, noting that planning permission total figures can fluctuate markedly from one quarter to another, particularly if a large project or several large projects are approved within the same reference quarter. The figures are thus not indicative of long-term trends based on a single quarter’s data.
Despite this, industry representatives voiced concern.
Dr David Duffy, the director of Property Industry Ireland, said that the data elucidates a general slowing down of planning permissions across all sorts of homes. He specifically pointed out the drop in apartment permissions, underscoring the funding and viability problems of such building projects. He emphasised the significance of supporting infrastructure like roads, utilities and wastewater networks and stressed the importance of countering obstructions to new home constructions.
The Institute of Professional Auctioneers & Valuers’ newly appointed president also urged the Government to prioritise the Housing Commission report.
The housing crisis in Ireland was labelled a ‘national emergency’ by the then Prime Minister over six years ago. Progress, albeit slow, has been observed; yet, significant hurdles such as planning, infrastructure, approval procedures and financing continue to exist, emphasized Lisa Kearney, the director of Rooney Auctioneers in Limerick ahead of Ipav’s yearly conference on Friday.
Kearney expressed concern over claims that a cross-department group would be formed to devise policy recommendations for the Government, describing it as more of the same. Instead, she advocated for the unification of all housing policy sectors under a government-supported, decision-making body.