While it is not a definitive indicator of future output – and the number of new homes that will be completed this year is expected to be the highest since 2008 – the figure will nevertheless be a source of concern to the Government as it chases an ambitious housing target.
The CSO said that 8,387 dwelling units got planning approval in the first quarter, down from 11,659 in the same period last year.
Houses accounted for just over half of all the permissions given to dwelling units, but the number approved fell by more than 20pc on last year. Apartment approvals were down by over a third.
The decline was seen in the figures for both one-off houses, with permissions down more than 9pc on last year, and multi-development houses, where the annual decline was almost 24pc.
The construction of apartments is still concentrated in Dublin, where planning permission was granted for 2,003 in the first quarter, almost six in ten of all apartments given permission in the State.
However that level of approval was down almost 57pc on the figures for the first quarter of 2023.
Apart from Dublin, the highest number of apartments getting planning permission were in Kildare (324), Cork (169) and Kerry (146). There were no approvals for apartments in Sligo, Roscommon or Leitrim.
The pattern was similar for new houses. Out of the total of 4,899 getting permission in the first quarter, Leitrim at 14 had the lowest proportion, followed by Roscommon (17) and Longford (18).
Commenting on the CSO data, the director of Property Industry Ireland Dr David Duffy said they showed a decline in planning permissions across all home types. “The slowdown is particularly driven by a decline in permissions for apartments, highlighting the significant viability and funding challenges to deliver this type of home,” he said.
“Immediate action on the recommendation of the Housing Commission to ‘support the delivery of enabling infrastructure in advance of housing construction’ is crucial. The delivery of homes requires supporting infrastructure such as road, waste-water and utilities. It is important that any such barriers to the delivery of new homes are addressed.”
The CSO does point out that the number of new dwelling units granted permission can change a lot from quarter to quarter, influenced by the approval of large developments and by the backlog of Strategic Housing Developments applications before An Bord Pleanala.
It therefore advises caution in trying to draw long-term trends from the figure in any single three-month period.
The data shows that of the 6,639 individual applications for permission given approval in Q1, there were 1,643 for new construction dwellings but also 1,929 for other new constructions, 1,916 for extensions, and 1,150 for alterations and conversions.
There was an annual increase of almost 10pc in the number of permissions granted for all developments in the first quarter, due to the increased number of approvals for conversions, extensions, and the construction of commercial, agricultural and state buildings.
