The number of planning permission granted for new dwelling units fell more than 35 per cent in the second quarter of 2009, new figures from the Central Statistic Office (CSO) showed today.
Permission was granted to build 12,831 dwellings between April and June, a 35.7 per cent fall compared with 19,942 units for the same period in 2008.
Only 7,739 houses were given permission in the three-month period. A year earlier, 12,598 houses got planning permission - a difference of 38.6 per cent. More than 2,200 of these were one-off houses, accounting for 17.4 per cent of permissions granted.
The number of planned apartments also fell, with only 5,092 units applied for during that time. In comparison, 7,344 units were applied for in 2008, indicating a decrease of 30.7 per cent year on year.
The number of planing permissions for new buildings for agriculture fell to 181 from 442 a year earlier.
In total, 6,756 planning permissions were granted for all developments, a fall of 39.8 on the previous year's figure of 11,215.