How long does planning permission take in Ireland?
A council has 8 weeks from receiving a valid application to decide on it, unless it asks for further information. In the national register, for decisions made between 3 November 2025 and 3 November 2026, the median wait ran from 49 to 100 days depending on the council, and the time within which nine decisions in ten were made ranged from 117 to 258 days.
The legal timetable
- Before you apply, you publish a notice in a local newspaper and put up a site notice. The council must receive your application within 2 weeks of the newspaper notice.
- Public comment. Anyone can make a submission for 5 weeks after the council receives the application, and the council cannot decide before that period ends (objections).
- Decision. Section 34(8) of the Planning and Development Act 2000 gives the council 8 weeks from receipt of the application.
- Further information. If the council asks for more information within those 8 weeks, it then has 4 weeks from the day you reply. If your reply contains significant additional data, you may have to publish a new notice, and the 4 weeks run from that notice. Citizens Information adds that the council can also extend its time with your agreement.
- Appeal window. After the decision, the applicant and anyone who made a submission have 4 weeks to appeal to An Coimisiún Pleanála. Citizens Information explains that if nobody appeals within those 4 weeks, the council goes on to grant the permission.
- If there is an appeal, An Coimisiún Pleanála aims to decide within 18 weeks, according to Citizens Information.
Decision times in each council
The table counts the decisions made between 3 November 2025 and 3 November 2026 in the national register of planning applications. The median is the number of days, from the date the application was received to the date of the decision, that half of the grants and refusals beat. The second figure is the time within which nine in ten of them were made. "Further information asked" is the share of the council's decisions where the register shows a request for further information.
| Council | Median wait | Nine in ten within | Further information asked | Decisions recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Longford | 49 days | 177 days | 36% | 280 |
| Donegal | 51 days | 170 days | 29% | 2,026 |
| Louth | 51 days | 240 days | 40% | 819 |
| Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown | 53 days | 117 days | 14% | 2,050 |
| Leitrim | 53 days | 209 days | 38% | 228 |
| Sligo | 53 days | 166 days | 29% | 432 |
| Wicklow | 53 days | 194 days | 40% | 1,073 |
| Clare | 54 days | 180 days | 27% | 1,038 |
| Fingal (register stops 8 September 2026) | 54 days | 163 days | 19% | 1,517 |
| Wexford | 54 days | 176 days | 36% | 1,454 |
| Dublin City (register stops 30 July 2026) | 55 days | 156 days | 20% | 2,332 |
| Galway City | 55 days | 210 days | 25% | 320 |
| Galway County | 55 days | 178 days | 32% | 1,812 |
| Laois | 55 days | 197 days | 39% | 584 |
| Limerick | 55 days | 192 days | 40% | 1,287 |
| Meath | 55 days | 212 days | 36% | 1,344 |
| South Dublin | 55 days | 159 days | 24% | 1,148 |
| Waterford | 55 days | 209 days | 38% | 775 |
| Westmeath | 55 days | 225 days | 39% | 518 |
| Tipperary | 56 days | 212 days | 39% | 1,085 |
| Mayo | 59 days | 203 days | 40% | 1,158 |
| Cavan | 62 days | 209 days | 48% | 583 |
| Kildare | 62 days | 236 days | 45% | 1,086 |
| Carlow | 63 days | 258 days | 47% | 346 |
| Kilkenny | 63 days | 247 days | 47% | 786 |
| Kerry | 64 days | 247 days | 46% | 1,158 |
| Offaly | 64 days | 237 days | 49% | 488 |
| Cork County | 66 days | 229 days | not recorded | 2,482 |
| Roscommon | 99 days | 252 days | 57% | 468 |
| Monaghan | 100 days | 258 days | 66% | 501 |
20 of the 30 councils with recent decisions have a median within the 56 days of the legal deadline. The longest medians are in Monaghan (100 days) and Roscommon (99 days); the shortest is in Longford (49 days).
Cork City has no decision in the register between 3 November 2025 and 3 November 2026, and the last application it lists was received on 4 November 2025, so it is not in the table. For a council marked "register stops", the register holds no application received after that date, so its figures cover only the decisions recorded until then. Cork County records no further information dates in the register, so its share is shown as not recorded rather than zero.
Why some applications take longer
The register does not give reasons for each delay, but the legal timetable shows where time goes: a request for further information gives the council a new period from your reply, a new public notice can be needed after it, and an appeal adds the time An Coimisiún Pleanála takes.
Where to follow your application
Councils publish weekly lists of planning applications, and you can view applications on your council's website, according to Citizens Information. Applications can also be made online on the national planning portal, planning.localgov.ie. For the work that needs no application at all, see the 2026 exemptions, and for how long a permission lasts once granted, see how long planning permission lasts.