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

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.”