Can it be built here?
Ireland's infrastructure capacity, county by county: spare wastewater treatment, electricity network headroom, planning applications and homes being started. Every figure from Uisce Éireann, ESB Networks, EirGrid and the Department of Housing.
Questions, answered
Straight from the latest data. Tap an answer to dig in.
are rated red by Uisce Éireann, and 100 amber, out of 1,071 on the register.
See the water map →18 of its 48 settlements have no spare capacity (38%).
See the county →16 of 18 substations show no spare demand capacity.
See the grid map →32,581 homes commenced in the 12 months to Sep 2026, against 27,635 a year earlier.
See housing starts →homes in schemes granted in the past 12 months, from 37,599 applications.
See planning →A Site Of Approximately 5.12 Ha In The Townlands Of Gollierstown And Finnstown, South-West (Dublin), lodged 15 Apr 2025, granted.
See large schemes →24 GWh of wind against 110 GWh demand; CO₂ 224 g/kWh.
See the grid →Every county at a glance
Red flags first: share of settlements with no spare wastewater capacity, share of substations with no spare demand capacity. Click a county for its full scorecard.
| County | Water: red | amber | Substations constrained | Planning apps (12m) | Homes granted (12m) | Homes started (12m) | per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carlow | 6 / 27 | 1 | 29% | 467 | 217 | 311 | 5.0 |
| Cavan | 2 / 26 | 7 | 18% | 806 | 379 | 242 | 3.0 |
| Clare | 3 / 34 | 6 | 61% | 1,224 | 664 | 478 | 3.7 |
| Cork | 32 / 152 | 21 | 51% | 3,371 | – | 3,932 | 6.7 |
| Donegal | 14 / 57 | 7 | 32% | 2,608 | 982 | 900 | 5.4 |
| Dublin | 3 / 24 | 0 | 57% | 6,833 | 1,896 | 12,419 | 8.5 |
| Galway | 3 / 36 | 2 | 56% | 2,346 | 1,057 | 1,548 | 5.6 |
| Kerry | 18 / 48 | 2 | 43% | 1,289 | 300 | 889 | 5.7 |
| Kildare | 5 / 41 | 2 | 89% | 1,603 | 1,018 | 1,076 | 4.3 |
| Kilkenny | 8 / 34 | 1 | 47% | 924 | 229 | 382 | 3.7 |
| Laois | 6 / 29 | 2 | 62% | 1,034 | 724 | 659 | 7.2 |
| Leitrim | 4 / 23 | 2 | 18% | 261 | 125 | 59 | 1.7 |
| Limerick | 9 / 53 | 7 | 57% | 1,462 | 926 | 821 | 3.9 |
| Longford | 3 / 19 | 0 | 38% | 316 | 101 | 68 | 1.5 |
| Louth | 3 / 18 | 3 | 52% | 1,028 | 968 | 603 | 4.3 |
| Mayo | 2 / 44 | 5 | 22% | 1,354 | 227 | 679 | 4.9 |
| Meath | 8 / 45 | 2 | 44% | 1,834 | 1,782 | 2,008 | 9.1 |
| Monaghan | 2 / 26 | 7 | 40% | 686 | 230 | 286 | 4.4 |
| Offaly | 2 / 29 | 1 | 38% | 847 | 375 | 129 | 1.6 |
| Roscommon | 1 / 31 | 3 | 33% | 695 | 89 | 182 | 2.6 |
| Sligo | 5 / 32 | 4 | 30% | 551 | 116 | 257 | 3.7 |
| Tipperary | 7 / 91 | 6 | 35% | 1,522 | 278 | 591 | 3.5 |
| Waterford | 6 / 32 | 1 | 82% | 1,152 | 388 | 1,269 | 10.0 |
| Westmeath | 1 / 21 | 3 | 55% | 729 | 721 | 611 | 6.3 |
| Wexford | 12 / 60 | 3 | 26% | 1,261 | 567 | 996 | 6.1 |
| Wicklow | 4 / 39 | 2 | 43% | 1,396 | 351 | 1,186 | 7.6 |
Wastewater capacity by settlement
Why it matters
A housing scheme, hotel or factory needs somewhere to send its wastewater. Where the local treatment plant is full (red), new connections wait for an upgrade, whatever the planning permission says. Amber means each application is assessed case by case.
Explore
settlements on Uisce Éireann's wastewater capacity register, rated green, amber or red.
See the register →substations with their spare capacity for new demand and generation, plus the grid today.
See the grid →planning applications in the past 12 months, with refusal rates, decision times and large schemes.
See planning →monthly commencement notices by county since 2014: homes, one-offs and apartments.
See housing starts →National Development Plan projects in the construction pipeline, by county and stage.
See projects →Capacity registers are indicative and non-binding: they are a snapshot published by the operators, not a guarantee that a connection can or cannot be made. Sources & methods.