Homeowner guide
How to apply for planning permission in Ireland: the 2026 process, step by step
Updated 2026-07-18 · checked against the sources below
If your project is beyond the exemptions - bigger than the limits, in front of the house, or on a protected structure - you apply to your local authority. The process is more mechanical than it looks: fixed notices, fixed fees, a fixed decision clock. Here is the whole path, with the 2026 figures.
Step 0: check you actually need permission
Rear extensions and garden structures are exempt within limits (which rise on 27 July 2026 - see the extension and garden-room guides). If it is genuinely unclear, ask the council for a Section 5 declaration: EUR 80, any person may apply, answered within 4 weeks. It is the formal 'is this exempt?' instrument and worth having in writing before you spend on drawings.
Step 1: pre-planning consultation
You have a statutory right (section 247 of the Planning and Development Act 2000) to a pre-application consultation with the planning authority, which cannot be unreasonably refused. For anything non-trivial it is the cheapest de-risking available: the planner will flag the issues that would otherwise surface as a request for further information months later.
Step 2: notices, then the application
Two public notices are required, both within the two weeks before you apply: a notice in a newspaper from the council's approved list, and a site notice visible at the property, which must stay up (and legible) for 5 weeks from the application date. The application itself - forms, drawings, the notices - must reach the authority within two weeks of the newspaper notice. Applications go through the national Online Planning portal or by post.
Fees for the common domestic cases: EUR 65 for a house, EUR 34 for an extension or garage conversion, EUR 34 for ancillary domestic structures. Retention (permission after the fact) costs roughly triple - EUR 102 minimum for an extension.
Step 3: the public window and the decision clock
Anyone may make a submission on your application for EUR 20 within 5 weeks of the authority receiving it - and only people who make one can later appeal.
The authority must decide within 8 weeks of receiving the application. If it requests further information, the clock effectively resets: the decision is then due within 4 weeks of your response. In practice a clean domestic application decides at the 8-week mark; an FI request typically adds two to three months including your own response time.
Step 4: the decision is not the end - the appeal window is
The notice of decision is an intention to grant. Any party - you, or a third party who made a submission - has 4 weeks to appeal to An Coimisiún Pleanála (the renamed An Bord Pleanála). Current Commission fees: EUR 220 for a standard first-party or third-party appeal on a domestic case, EUR 660 where retention is involved, EUR 50 to observe on someone else's appeal. If no appeal lands within the 4 weeks, the grant issues and is final.
Permission normally lasts 5 years.
Step 5: before you build
Works under a permission need a Commencement Notice through the Building Control Management System (BCMS) 14 to 28 days before starting, fee EUR 30. Extensions over 40 m² total floor area carry the full BCAR certification regime (design certifier, assigned certifier), though owners of single dwellings can opt out of statutory certification while remaining fully bound by the building regulations themselves.
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Quick answers
How long does planning permission take in Ireland?
The statutory decision is 8 weeks from a valid application. Add the appeal window (4 weeks) before a grant is final, and add two to three months if further information is requested. A realistic clean-run total from application to final grant is about 3 months.
How much does a planning application cost?
The application fee is EUR 65 for a house and EUR 34 for an extension, but the real cost is drawings and design: architect or engineer fees typically dominate. Third parties pay EUR 20 to make a submission; appeals cost EUR 220 at An Coimisiún Pleanála.
Can my neighbours stop my extension?
Neighbours can make a EUR 20 submission during the 5-week window, and if they did, they can appeal a grant to An Coimisiún Pleanála for EUR 220. An appeal means the Commission re-decides the whole application afresh - it can uphold, modify or refuse.
What if I am refused?
You can appeal the refusal to An Coimisiún Pleanála within 4 weeks (EUR 220), or redesign to address the stated reasons and reapply. The refusal reasons are the roadmap for the second attempt.
Sources
Related
General guidance, not legal or planning advice. The regulations and your local authority's interpretation bind; conditions and local rules (protected structures, architectural conservation areas, flood zones) can change the answer for a specific property. When in doubt, ask your council for a Section 5 declaration or talk to a planning consultant.