ONLY TWO IRISH counties have seen an increase in the number of planning applications lodged in the first eight months of 2012, compared to the same period in 2011, new data has shown.
The National Housing Construction Index, compiled by Link2Plans, shows that of the 26 historic counties in the Republic, only Donegal and Leitrim have seen increases in the number of applications lodged in the first two thirds of the year.
91 applications were lodged in Leitrim, an increase of 4 on the previous year. In Donegal, applications have increased from 733 to 863, a jump of 18 per cent.
At the other end of the scale, Kerry has seen the highest fall in the number of applications; 313 planning applications were made in the first two thirds of 2012, compared to 491 in the previous year. This equates to a drop of 36 per cent.
Kildare is close behind, falling from 396 to 256, a fall of 35 per cent. Applications in Clare are down by 32 per cent, from 341 to 231, while the Wexford is down by 29 per cent (453 to 320) and Cavan 28 per cent (144 to 104).
Overall, the number of applications for housing construction has fallen by 16 per cent in the first two-thirds of the year.
9,197 applications were lodged in the country in the eight months to August, down by 16 per cent from the previous year’s figure of 10,953.
The number of building projects which have commenced in the first eight months has also fallen, though by a slightly lesser amount: 10 per cent.
3,782 projects began construction in the eight months to August. That is down from 4,215 in the equivalent period of 2011.
Six of the 26 counties have seen increases in commencements when compared to last year: Westmeath, Mayo, Sligo, Cork, Cavan and Kilkenny. By comparison, commencements in Laois and Roscommon are down by 33 per cent.
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