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Do I need planning permission for a driveway in Ireland?

Usually not for hard-surfacing an existing garden area for domestic parking, which can be exempted development under Class 6 of Schedule 2 to the Planning and Development Regulations 2001, but forming a new vehicular entrance onto a public road generally needs the local authority's consent regardless of the planning exemption.

Class 6 of Schedule 2 to the Planning and Development Regulations 2001 (as amended) exempts the construction, within the curtilage of a house, of a hard-standing surface for the parking of vehicles, subject to conditions on surface water drainage and, where relevant, permeability of the surface material.

The exemption for the paved surface itself is separate from the question of forming a new entrance or crossover onto a public road. Creating a new dropped kerb or breaking through a boundary wall to form a vehicular entrance where none existed before generally requires a separate roads-related consent from the local authority as roads authority, in addition to, or instead of, any planning exemption for the surface.

Sightline and road-safety conditions apply to any new or altered entrance, particularly on a bend, near a junction, or on a road with a higher speed limit, and a local authority can refuse consent for a new entrance even where the paving itself would be exempted development.

Checklist for a new or widened driveway

Check the following before starting work:

  • The paved area sits within the curtilage of the house
  • Surface water drainage is managed on-site rather than discharging onto the public road
  • A permeable surface is used where required by the specific conditions of Class 6
  • Any new entrance or dropped kerb has separate consent from the roads section of the local authority
  • Sightlines at the entrance meet road safety standards, especially near junctions or bends
  • The property is not subject to a planning condition restricting hard-surfacing

It is common for the surface itself to be exempt while the new road entrance still needs a distinct application or licence, so treat these as two separate approvals rather than one.

Contacting the roads section

Before breaking a footpath or kerb to form a new entrance, contact your local authority's roads section, since unauthorised works to a public road or footpath can lead to enforcement action even where the driveway surface itself required no planning permission.

Sources

Last reviewed 20 August 2026. General information only — not legal or planning advice.

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