Agnes Farm, Dunkelly West, Goleen, Co Cork

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• Retention planning permission in Ireland — refused 27% of the time, against 7% for extensionsOne in six Dublin applications is for retention, and 27% of retention decisions in the two years to September 2026 were refusals. When you need it, the treble fee, the seven-year rule and the sale-time problem.
• Granny flat planning permission in Ireland — the family-flat condition and the 2026 exemptionDublin councils granted 102 of the 122 granny-flat and family-flat applications they decided in the 12 months to September 2026. When an attached flat needs permission, what Class 3A exempts from 27 July 2026, and the condition every grant carries.
• Planning application fees and costs in Ireland — €34 for an extension, €65 for a house, treble for retentionThe council fee is the smallest cost of a planning application. Schedule 9 fees for a house, an extension, retention and commercial floor space; the €20 observation, the €220 appeal, development contributions and what the drawings and notices cost.
• Site notice planning rules — 22% of Dublin applications invalid, and the notice is the top cause2,539 of the 11,409 applications received by Dublin councils in the year to September 2026 were declared invalid; in South Dublin nearly half were for the site notice. What it must say, where it goes, when it turns yellow.