Strategic Infrastructure Development(SID)
The route for nationally significant projects — data centres, windfarms, major grid, ports and water — consented directly by An Coimisiún Pleanála, bypassing the local authority.
Under the Planning and Development (Strategic Infrastructure) Act 2006, certain large or strategically important developments are applied for directly to An Coimisiún Pleanála. The applicant first seeks a pre-application opinion on whether the project qualifies as SID. Because these applications skip the local-authority register, they never appear in council weekly lists.
These are the biggest builds in the State. For contractors and suppliers they are mega-projects — and they are invisible if you only watch council planning registers.
PlanningLeads tracks Ireland's SID pipeline in the Infrastructure directory, geocoded and sized by megawatt capacity — projects you won't find by scanning local registers.
Common questions
Classes set out in the 2006 Act — including major energy and grid infrastructure, data centres, windfarms, ports and large water/waste schemes.
An Coimisiún Pleanála decides it directly, rather than the local authority.
Because they are made straight to An Coimisiún Pleanála, bypassing the local-authority planning register.
This is a plain-English summary, not legal advice. Planning rules carry conditions and exceptions — always verify a specific case against the official source or a planning professional before acting.