Official figures show a strong increase in the number of planning permissions granted for new homes during the first three months of this year.

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) said that 11,659 units were approved in the first quarter of 2023 – up almost 38% compared with the same period last year.

The figures show a pick-up in the number of apartments approved, after a sharp drop last year.

Apartment approvals rose by 46% to 5,513, while the number of houses granted planning permission was 6,146 – an increase of 31%.

The number of multi-development houses approved jumped by more than 80%, compared with a 32% drop for one-off houses.

Dublin dominance

The four local authorities of Dublin accounted for 84% of all apartments approved between January and the end of March.

The CSO added that more than half of all homes granted planning permission in the State in the first quarter were in the Fingal County Council local-authority area.

The CSO has warned that changes to applications processes for Strategic Housing Developments (SHD), and related issues in An Bord Pleanála in 2022, may impact the number of planning permissions granted over recent quarters.