What happens to a council decision on appeal to An Coimisiún Pleanála, and before June 2025 to An Bord Pleanála: how often a grant is refused, how often a refusal is granted, and how long it takes, by year, by type of development and by planning authority.
Every appeal on the register, by the council's decision and the outcome on appeal. "Conditions varied" is an appeal against conditions only, where the Commission removed, amended or added a condition. "Undecided" includes appeals not yet decided and those whose outcome the council has not recorded.
| Council decision | Appeals | Granted | Refused | Conditions varied | Split | Dismissed or withdrawn | Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Council granted | 9,020 | 5,827 64.6% | 1,319 14.6% | 595 6.6% | 17 0.2% | 669 7.4% | 35 0.4% | 558 6.2% |
| Council refused | 6,092 | 2,046 33.6% | 3,439 56.5% | 0 0.0% | 79 1.3% | 188 3.1% | 2 0.0% | 338 5.5% |
The reversal rates and the median time from the appeal being lodged to the decision, for each year in which the appeal was decided. The 18 weeks in section 126 of the 2000 Act is an objective, not a time limit; under section 361 of the 2024 Act it becomes a duty, with the fee refunded if it is missed.
| Year decided | Appeals decided | Council grants refused | Council refusals granted | Median weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 1,228 | 18.2% | 35.7% | 23 |
| 2019 | 1,464 | 22.5% | 36.2% | 17 |
| 2020 | 1,488 | 18.1% | 41.1% | 18 |
| 2021 | 1,518 | 18.6% | 44.5% | 19 |
| 2022 | 1,025 | 18.7% | 38.4% | 29 |
| 2023 | 1,610 | 15.3% | 32.5% | 62 |
| 2024 | 2,152 | 16.9% | 35.5% | 44 |
| 2025 | 1,912 | 20.3% | 35.1% | 18 |
Appeals by type of development, as classified from the description on the register, with the share of decided applications appealed (2017 to 2024) and the two reversal rates. A rate based on fewer than 30 appeals is not shown.
| Type of development | Appeals | Share appealed | Council grants refused | Council refusals granted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single house | 2,996 | 3.8% | 34.4% | 24.1% |
| Extension | 2,716 | 3.8% | 10.4% | 46.7% |
| Other-mixed | 2,165 | 7.5% | 12.9% | 43.7% |
| Apartments | 1,421 | 21.9% | 17.8% | 35.9% |
| Housing scheme | 1,333 | 10.5% | 26.7% | 34.2% |
| Change of use | 1,035 | 7.7% | 12.8% | 42.0% |
| Demolition | 1,028 | 14.5% | 12.7% | 45.2% |
| Retention (unclassified) | 767 | 9.4% | 15.4% | 31.9% |
| Commercial-industrial | 574 | 9.0% | 13.2% | 34.3% |
| Signage-telecoms | 518 | 15.3% | 13.1% | 46.4% |
| Agricultural | 347 | 3.7% | 20.3% | 34.9% |
| Solar-energy | 339 | 16.9% | 5.2% | 65.5% |
The same figures for each planning authority whose appeals are recorded on the register. Cork County Council records no appeal information in the national register and is not included. Each name opens the authority's planning page.
| Planning authority | Appeals | Share appealed | Council grants refused | Council refusals granted | Median weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carlow | 133 | 4.4% | 19.4% | 39.5% | 32 |
| Cavan | 166 | 3.4% | 27.6% | 32.4% | 24 |
| Clare | 374 | 4.0% | 25.0% | 29.4% | 25 |
| Cork City | 467 | 8.1% | 9.2% | 39.1% | 22 |
| Donegal | 453 | 2.8% | 41.9% | 44.8% | 26 |
| Dublin City | 2,089 | 13.3% | 9.0% | 33.3% | 20 |
| Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown | 1,624 | 12.7% | 7.3% | 48.7% | 19 |
| Fingal | 1,324 | 10.9% | 9.5% | 41.1% | 19 |
| Galway City | 347 | 10.8% | 13.7% | 40.0% | 20 |
| Galway County | 643 | 3.8% | 25.0% | 39.9% | 25 |
| Kerry | 652 | 5.7% | 28.4% | 28.4% | 23 |
| Kildare | 771 | 6.9% | 9.2% | 33.1% | 24 |
| Kilkenny | 307 | 4.3% | 20.6% | 31.6% | 26 |
| Laois | 188 | 3.3% | 28.4% | too few | 25 |
| Leitrim | 53 | 3.1% | 16.2% | too few | 28 |
| Limerick | 533 | 4.7% | 19.8% | 28.5% | 21 |
| Longford | 123 | 4.8% | 33.8% | 20.0% | 25 |
| Louth | 493 | 6.3% | 21.8% | 29.9% | 23 |
| Mayo | 350 | 3.8% | 29.2% | 37.7% | 26 |
| Meath | 608 | 5.0% | 24.6% | 33.1% | 26 |
| Monaghan | 125 | 2.6% | 24.0% | 33.3% | 25 |
| Offaly | 170 | 3.7% | 21.6% | 34.6% | 25 |
| Roscommon | 174 | 4.0% | 21.2% | 41.0% | 24 |
| Sligo | 131 | 3.6% | 12.3% | 31.0% | 21 |
| South Dublin | 734 | 8.9% | 9.9% | 39.9% | 20 |
| Tipperary | 375 | 3.8% | 16.1% | 34.0% | 25 |
| Waterford | 398 | 5.3% | 14.9% | 37.8% | 28 |
| Westmeath | 190 | 4.1% | 25.7% | 36.7% | 27 |
| Wexford | 481 | 3.8% | 32.1% | 39.2% | 24 |
| Wicklow | 763 | 8.1% | 16.2% | 33.9% | 25 |
Appealing a decision sets out who may appeal and what an appeal must contain; the deadline calculator gives the last day to appeal from a planning reference; valid planning grounds covers what the Commission can take into account; planning by council has each authority's applications and grant rate.
The practice gives a view on whether there is a planning case, and prepares the appeal or the response to one.