Planning Register

GUIDES · IRISH PLANNING · 41 ARTICLES · LIVE NUMBERS FROM THE STORE

Guides to Irish planning

What is exempt, what needs permission, when the window to object closes, and what the registers actually show. Every guide cites the statute or the official page, and where we can put a number on it the number is computed from the Dublin registers when the page is built — with the query shown.

SHEET 01 · 12 GUIDES

Doing work to your home

Extensions, garden rooms, attics, retention — what is exempt, what needs permission, and how long it takes.

  1. 01.01Attic conversion and dormer planning permission in Ireland — 94% of dormer applications grantedUpdated 12 Sept 2026Dublin councils granted 94% of the 1,175 attic and dormer applications they decided in the 12 months to September 2026. What is exempt, when a dormer needs permission, and the fire rules that apply either way.
  2. 01.02Change of use planning permission in Ireland — 84% granted, short-term letting 2 in 6Updated 12 Sept 2026Dublin councils granted 455 of the 544 change-of-use applications they decided in the 12 months to September 2026. What a material change of use is, which changes are exempt under Part 4, and why short-term letting is refused more than any other.
  3. 01.03Further information requests on a planning application — 21% of Dublin files, six months to replyUpdated 12 Sept 202621% of applications received by Dublin councils in the year to September 2026 drew a further information request. What the council is asking, the six-month deadline, what "significant" FI triggers, and what it does to neighbours' rights.
  4. 01.04Garden room and granny flat planning permission — the 2026 Class 1A and 3A exemptionsUpdated 12 Sept 2026Dublin councils granted 89% of the 911 garden-room and granny-flat applications lodged in the two years to September 2026. Since 27 July 2026 a detached 32–45 m² garden dwelling can be exempt, with a 14-day notice to the council.
  5. 01.05Granny flat planning permission in Ireland — the family-flat condition and the 2026 exemptionUpdated 12 Sept 2026Dublin 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.
  6. 01.06How long does planning permission last? Five years, and a 79% rate on extensions of durationUpdated 12 Sept 2026A permission lasts five years from the grant. Dublin councils granted 79% of the 343 extension-of-duration applications lodged in the two years to September 2026. What "commenced" means and how to apply in time.
  7. 01.07How long does planning permission take in Ireland? A 53-day median, and the tailUpdated 12 Sept 2026The median Dublin application took 53 days from receipt to decision in the year to September 2026; one in ten took over 161 days. The eight-week clock, what stops it, and what "final grant" means.
  8. 01.08Planning application fees and costs in Ireland — €34 for an extension, €65 for a house, treble for retentionUpdated 12 Sept 2026The 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.
  9. 01.09Planning permission for an extension in Ireland — the 45 m² exemption and a 94% grant rateUpdated 12 Sept 2026Dublin councils granted 94% of extension applications decided in the year to September 2026. Since 27 July 2026 a rear extension of up to 45 m² can be exempt. The conditions, when you still apply, the fee and the timeline.
  10. 01.10Planning permission vs exempted development — 29% of section 5 requests came back "not exempt"Updated 12 Sept 2026Of 251 section 5 declarations decided by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown and South Dublin in the 12 months to September 2026, 29% found the works needed permission. How exemption works, where it is lost, and how to get a €80 declaration.
  11. 01.11Porch and garage conversion planning permission — 99% of garage conversions grantedUpdated 12 Sept 2026Dublin councils granted 87 of 88 garage-conversion applications and 95% of porch applications in the 12 months to September 2026. The 2 m² porch limit, the parking condition, and when neither needs an application.
  12. 01.12Retention planning permission in Ireland — refused 27% of the time, against 7% for extensionsUpdated 12 Sept 2026One 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.

SHEET 02 · 8 GUIDES

Living next to development

The five-week window, the €20 observation, appeals to the Commission, site notices and council schemes.

  1. 02.01An Bord Pleanála appeal, now An Coimisiún Pleanála — four weeks, €220, and a 25% reversal rateUpdated 12 Sept 2026The Commission reversed the council in 25% of the 1,195 Dublin-area appeals decided in the two years to September 2026. Who can appeal, the four weeks, the €220 fee, why 240 appeals a year fail on procedure, and the odds by direction.
  2. 02.02How to object to a planning application in Ireland — five weeks, €20, and 348 open windows todayUpdated 12 Sept 2026348 Dublin-area applications are inside their five-week observation window as this page was built. Anyone can make a submission for €20. Since the 2024 Act it is also the ticket to an appeal and, for most people, to judicial review.
  3. 02.03Judicial review of a planning decision in Ireland — eight weeks, substantial grounds, and who may bring oneUpdated 12 Sept 2026The Commission decided 510 appeals from the seven Dublin-area councils in the 12 months to September 2026, and each opened an eight-week judicial review window. What s.50 allows, what it costs, what the court can and cannot do, and how the 2024 Act changes standing.
  4. 02.04Large-scale residential development (LRD) explained — 35 appeals in a year, 15 of 18 decided grantedUpdated 12 Sept 2026The Commission received 35 LRD appeals from the Dublin-area councils in the 12 months to September 2026 and granted 15 of the 18 it decided on the merits. How a 100-home scheme goes through the council since SHD ended, the five-week window, the appeal, and what changed from the Bord's fast track.
  5. 02.05Part 8 planning explained — 37 council schemes in Dublin this year, six weeks to object, no appealUpdated 12 Sept 2026Dublin's four councils opened 37 Part 8 consultations in the 12 months to September 2026. How a council's own housing, park or road scheme is approved under s.179, the six-week window, the councillors' vote, and why there is no appeal to the Commission.
  6. 02.06Planning enforcement in Ireland — 7,396 cases a year, the warning letter and the seven-year ruleUpdated 12 Sept 2026Councils opened 7,396 planning enforcement cases in 2024. What unauthorised development is, how a complaint becomes a s.152 warning letter and a s.154 notice, what the seven-year rule does and does not do, and how to report or answer one.
  7. 02.07Section 183 disposal of council land — 140 notices in Dublin this year, and the only public trace of a saleUpdated 12 Sept 2026Dublin's four councils put 140 section 183 disposal notices to their members in the 12 months to September 2026, Dublin City 68 of them. What a s.183 notice is, the 10-day rule, what the members can do, and why the notice is the only public record of a council land sale.
  8. 02.08Site notice planning rules — 22% of Dublin applications invalid, and the notice is the top causeUpdated 12 Sept 20262,539 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.

SHEET 03 · 7 GUIDES

Buying and selling

Planning searches, certificates of compliance, RZLT, protected structures and flood maps.

  1. 03.01BER and planning permission when selling a house — two separate certificates, and where they meetUpdated 12 Sept 2026Greater Dublin councils granted 93% of the 1,225 extension applications they decided in 12 months, and every one of those extensions moved the house's Building Energy Rating. What a BER is, when you must have one, the exemptions, and how planning permission, Part L and the BER interact when you sell.
  2. 03.02Certificate of compliance with planning permission — what the architect's opinion covers and what it does notUpdated 12 Sept 2026Retention applications were 17% of everything lodged in the GDA over 12 months, and a fifth of those decided were refused. What a certificate or opinion on compliance with planning permission says, who signs it, the Law Society and RIAI forms, and the gaps a buyer should close from the register.
  3. 03.03Flood maps when buying a house — what floodinfo.ie shows, flood zones A, B and C, and why we only flagUpdated 12 Sept 2026We hold 27,460 CFRAM flood-extent features for the four Dublin councils, and 36 applications decided in 12 months mentioned flood risk in their description. What the OPW's floodinfo.ie maps mean, how flood zones A, B and C govern planning, what insurers use, and what a buyer should check.
  4. 03.04Planning searches in conveyancing — what an €85 search covers, and what it cannot seeUpdated 12 Sept 2026Every Irish house purchase includes a planning search against the council's register. What the search returns, what the certificate of compliance adds, and the things that are moving on the day of closing that neither of them shows — a live appeal, an open observation window, a commencement notice last month.
  5. 03.05Protected structures and architectural conservation areas — what needs permission, the free section 57 declaration, and what the register showsUpdated 12 Sept 2026368 applications naming a protected structure were decided across the Greater Dublin councils in 12 months and 88% were granted. What being on the Record of Protected Structures means, what an ACA takes away from the ordinary exemptions, how to get a section 57 declaration, and what buyers should check.
  6. 03.06Residential Zoned Land Tax explained — the 3% levy, the annual map, and what it means for buyers and landownersUpdated 12 Sept 2026RZLT is an annual tax of 3% of market value on land zoned for housing and connected to services. Each council publishes a map every year with fixed windows to challenge it. Who is liable, what the windows are, how many hectares are on the Dublin maps, and what a buyer of land or a house should check.
  7. 03.07What sale-agreed buyers should check on the planning register before contracts are signedUpdated 12 Sept 2026348 applications across the Greater Dublin councils are inside their five-week observation window today. The nine planning checks to run between sale agreed and signing — the house's own history, the neighbours' live applications, appeals, commencements, RZLT, flood and conservation flags — and which of them the €85 search will not do.

SHEET 04 · 5 GUIDES

Infrastructure and the NTA

BusConnects, MetroLink, DART+ and active travel — how they go through the Commission and what neighbours can do.

  1. 04.01Active travel schemes and cycle lane consultations — Part 8, section 38, and how to respond before the drawing is fixedUpdated 12 Sept 2026The four Dublin councils ran 42 transport and active-travel consultations in 24 months — 9 under section 38 of the Road Traffic Act, 3 under Part 8, the rest non-statutory. Which route a cycle lane takes through the council, the six-week Part 8 window, why most schemes never go to the Commission, and where to find the ones open now.
  2. 04.02BusConnects core bus corridors — how a corridor gets approved, what neighbours can do, and what the register shows along the Lucan routeUpdated 12 Sept 2026Within 2 km of the Lucan to City Centre corridor at Palmerstown, the register holds 209 applications lodged in 24 months and 93 commencement notices. How the NTA's twelve core bus corridors went through An Coimisiún Pleanála, the CPO and objection process, judicial review, and what the store shows along two corridors.
  3. 04.03DART+ explained — the four railway orders, what neighbours of the line can do, and what the register shows at AshtownUpdated 12 Sept 2026Within 2 km of the DART+ West line at Ashtown, the register holds 232 applications lodged in 24 months, 96% of the decided ones granted, and 93 commencement notices. How the DART+ programme's railway orders work, where each of the four lines stands, level crossings and compulsory acquisition, and how to read the store along the line.
  4. 04.04Luas extensions — Finglas, Lucan, Poolbeg, how a tram line is consented, and what the register shows at the Cherrywood endUpdated 12 Sept 2026Within 2 km of the Green Line terminus at Cherrywood, the register holds 225 applications lodged in 24 months and 102 commencement notices. How a Luas extension goes from the NTA strategy to a railway order at An Coimisiún Pleanála, where Luas Finglas, Lucan and Poolbeg stand, what neighbours can do, and what a tram does to the register.
  5. 04.05MetroLink and the railway order — how the line was approved, what neighbours can still do, and what the register shows at BallymunUpdated 12 Sept 2026Within 2 km of the MetroLink alignment at Ballymun, the register holds 364 applications lodged in 24 months, 135 commencement notices and 34 appeals. How a railway order under the Transport (Railway Infrastructure) Act 2001 works, the oral hearing, the eight-week judicial review limit, and what to expect during construction.

SHEET 05 · 9 GUIDES

Data and trends

Grant rates by council, what gets refused, where Dublin is building, appeals overturned.

  1. 05.01Appeals overturned by council — how often An Coimisiún Pleanála reverses each Dublin council, and in which directionUpdated 12 Sept 2026The Commission reversed the council on 301 of 1,195 Dublin appeals decided in 24 months, 25%. South Dublin was reversed most (30%), Dublin City least (23%), and 76 of Fingal's 85 reversals turned a refusal into a grant. How the appeal works, what a reversal rate means, and how to read your council's number before you appeal.
  2. 05.02Planning decision times by council — median and p90 days from lodgement to decision, and the further-information shareUpdated 12 Sept 2026South Dublin decided applications in a median 49 days over 12 months (n=1,129) and Kildare in 77 (n=925); Kildare's slowest tenth took more than 252 days and half its applications got a further-information request. Median and 90th-percentile decision days for the seven Greater Dublin councils, why the eight-week clock stretches, and what the FI share tells you.
  3. 05.03Planning permission grant rates by council — Dublin, Fingal, DLR, South Dublin and the commuter countiesUpdated 12 Sept 2026How often each Greater Dublin Area council grants, refuses and invalidates applications, how long each takes, how often decisions are appealed, and what gets refused most — computed from the registers when this page was built, with the queries shown.
  4. 05.04RZLT parcels by council — hectares on the 2026 final maps for the four Dublin councils, and what the parcel counts hideUpdated 12 Sept 2026The 2026 final Residential Zoned Land Tax maps for the four Dublin councils cover 14,224 hectares in 87,751 parcels — Dublin City 4,514 ha, Fingal 3,653, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown 3,295, South Dublin 2,762. Why the parcel counts are not comparable, where the large parcels are, how much is around the big estates, and how to read the map before the 1 April submission date.
  5. 05.05The most refused planning application types in Dublin — retention first, apartments second, extensions lastUpdated 12 Sept 2026Retention applications were refused 27% of the time across the Greater Dublin councils in 12 months (140 of 510 decided), apartments 20%, new houses 15% and extensions 7%. The refusal share by development type, why the mix matters more than the council, and what the register says about where each type fails.
  6. 05.06What's planned around Cherrywood — the register within 2 km of the town centreUpdated 12 Sept 2026Within 2 km of Cherrywood town centre (53.246, −6.150) the register holds 225 applications lodged in 24 months, 102 commencement notices, 30 appeals and 369 hectares on the RZLT map. What the strategic development zone means for objectors, the schemes lodged this summer, the older permissions still running, and the PPR prices around them.
  7. 05.07What's planned around Clonburris, Seven Mills and Kilcarbery Grange — the register within 2.5 kmUpdated 12 Sept 2026Within 2.5 km of Clonburris (53.335, −6.415) the register holds 386 applications lodged in 24 months, 229 commencement notices, 642 hectares on the RZLT map and 1,171 PPR sales in a year at a median of €414,000. The SDZ scheme behind Seven Mills, the Kilcarbery Grange SHD, the phases granted since 2022, and the amendment consultation open until 29 September 2026.
  8. 05.08What's planned around Hansfield — the register within 2.5 km of Hansfield stationUpdated 12 Sept 2026Within 2.5 km of Hansfield (53.395, −6.445) the register holds 283 applications lodged in 24 months, 89% of the decided ones granted, 88 commencement notices, 308 hectares on the RZLT map and 78 PPR sales in a year at a median of €466,000. The Fingal SDZ on one side of the county line, the Dunboyne and Clonee large-scale residential developments on the other, and the N3 bus priority scheme between them.
  9. 05.09Where Dublin is building — commencement notices by local electoral area, 12 monthsUpdated 12 Sept 20263,366 commencement notices were lodged across the four Dublin councils in 12 months and geolinked to an electoral area; Pembroke led with 204 and Tallaght South trailed with 23. What a commencement notice is, why it is the signal that a permission is real, the ranking of all 31 electoral areas, and the month-by-month shape.

These guides are general information about the Irish planning system, not legal advice. Deadlines are computed from published receipt and decision dates; confirm with the council or a planning consultant before relying on one.