Planning permissions issued for new homes tumbled in the three months ended June 30th, with the sharpest falls in Dublin, a flashpoint in the housing crisis, builders say.
Construction Industry Federation (CIF) representatives told politicians on Tuesday that planners gave permission for 7,447 new homes in the second quarter of the year, 12.5 per cent fewer than during the same period in 2024.
Planners in Dublin’s four local councils approved 35.5 per cent fewer homes over the three-month period than during the second quarter of last year, said the federation.
The number of houses approved across Dublin almost halved to 583 from 1,062, while apartment approvals fell 30 per cent to 1,233 from 1,754, the organisation told the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage.
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Why are planning permissions so low when the Republic needs 50,500 new homes every year? Conor O’Connell, CIF director of housing and planning, asked the committee.
He warned that the falling number of permits indicated “significant issues” with the availability of and servicing of suitable land and challenges with the viability of apartments.
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The number of new homes built in April, May and June this year rose 35 per cent on the same months in 2024 to 9,214, according to the CIF.
A waiver on local authority and water connection charges last year accelerated the rate at which builders began work on new homes, leading to a boost in completions in 2025.
Mr O’Connell assured the committee that the Irish construction industry could build the critical infrastructure needed in the Government’s €270 billion National Development Plan.
“But consistent roadblocks mean that for many companies, a reliable pipeline of work is not available in Ireland,” he said.
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Big companies blame planning and legal problems, lack of long-term funding and difficulties with State procurement for slowing construction work here, he pointed out.
“This undermines industry confidence, business continuity and certainty,” said Mr O’Connell.
“As a result, companies are shifting their focus towards private clients or redirecting their surplus capacity, including skilled workers, to international markets, simply because there is not enough domestic work to sustain them,” he said.
Builders need more zoned land, more infrastructure, more planning permission and more funding for housing to aid them in tackling the crisis, Mr O’Connell told the committee.
Housebuilders relied on the State to fund the planning and legal systems to provide the permits that will ultimately supply more homes, he added.
