Planning permissions were given for 15,783 houses in the six months to the end of June, the highest in this period for 14 years, according to the Central Statistics Office. Permissions were also granted for 3,970 flats, the highest recorded.
The houses and flats were included in a total of 15,122 planning applications granted in the first half of the year, an increase of 373 on the same period in 1996 and the highest for the period since 1982.
Figures for the second quarter, showing an increase in planning permissions of 4.2 per cent over the same period last year. A total of 8,180 permissions were granted from April to June.
The south-west had 1,451, the highest number in this period, followed by Dublin with 1,298. The average floor area per unit for flats was greatest in the midlands with 87.6 sq m while the lowest was in the south-west with 65.6 sq m. However, houses in the southwest had the biggest average floor area of 153.1 sq m compared to 118.3 sq m in Dublin, where the average was lowest.