Planning permissions for new homes rise 60% in Q2 2026

Planning permission for new dwellings jumped 60 per cent in the second quarter of 2026, with 203 house units and 187 apartment units approved, according to the latest CSO figures.

The CSO data show that almost 12,000 dwelling units were approved nationwide in Q2 2026, up from 7,447 units in the same period of 2025. This is the highest quarterly approval level since Q4 2021.

For the first half of 2026, planning permissions were 28 per cent higher than in the first half of 2025, indicating a broader upward trend.

Government response

County Limerick TD and Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Niall Collins, welcomed the figures, saying they show housing is moving in the right direction. He noted that the Department of Housing reports 644 homes have already commenced construction in 2026, bringing the national total of new starts to 22,854 – a 162 per cent increase on the 8,711 homes started in the first eight months of 2025.

Collins credited the policies of Minister James Browne, who has been “relentlessly pursuing” measures to boost supply since the government took office in January 2025, and stressed the need to translate these permissions and starts into completed homes.

Source: Limerick Post. Photo: Greece-China News / Pexels.