How much does a planning application cost in Ireland?

Every planning application to a local authority carries a statutory fee, set out in Schedule 9 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001 and varying by the class of development - for example, a fixed fee applies to a single dwelling house, while extensions and other works are often charged per square metre of floor area up to a capped maximum. These fees are modest relative to the overall cost of a building project and are paid directly to the council when the application is lodged; an incorrect fee is a common reason applications are ruled invalid.

The much larger cost for most applicants is professional fees. An architect or architectural technologist typically prepares the site location map, drawings and design statement, and their fee is usually calculated as a percentage of build cost or a fixed project fee. Additional costs can include a structural engineer's input, a site suitability assessment and percolation test for a septic tank, a flood risk assessment, an ecological or bat survey, or a traffic and access assessment, depending on what the site and proposal require.

If a decision is appealed, An Coimisiún Pleanála charges its own statutory fee, and if the applicant later needs retention permission because works proceeded without permission or outside the terms of permission granted, the retention fee is set at a higher multiple of the standard fee. Budgeting for professional and specialist report costs, not just the council fee, is essential when planning the overall cost of a project.