Balnamona Charlestown , Mullingar , Co. Westmeath

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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.
• Crèche and childcare planning applications in Dublin — half arrive inside housing schemes369 applications mentioning a crèche, childcare facility, Montessori or pre-school reached the Greater Dublin registers in 36 months, 234 granted and 34 refused. 196 of them are a crèche inside a housing scheme, required by the 2001 childcare guidelines at one facility of about 20 places per 75 homes; 173 are standalone, and 52 of those are a change of use of a shop, house or office. Where they are granted, why the standalone ones are refused, and every recent file linked.
• 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.