Increase in planning permissions points to importance of fast-track planning

March 12, 2021

Property Industry Ireland (PII), the Ibec group that represents businesses working in the property sector, said today’s Central Statistics Office data show planning permissions grew by 13.5% in 2020. 
 
PII Director, Dr. David Duffy stated: "The latest planning permission data from the CSO show the importance of the Strategic Housing Development process in the delivery of much needed housing supply. Over 58% of permissions were granted through this process. We urge Government to extend this scheme.
  
“Since 2017, planning permissions for apartments have been higher than for one-off housing. In 2013, permissions for one-off housing were close to 2.5 times that of apartments. By 2020 permissions for one-off housing were 20% of apartments. This change is welcome as we look to address the imbalance that remains between supply and demand. 
 
“The growth in planning permissions for apartments, nearly 34% annually, shows a commitment to the delivery of homes within our cities.
 
“CSO data on house prices show that nationally house prices saw an annual increase of 2.6% We must all continue to look at how the viability of homebuilding can be improved and work to remove barriers to the speedy delivery of new homes across all tenures.”