What documents do I need for planning permission in Ireland?

The Planning and Development Regulations 2001 set out precisely what a valid planning application must contain, and local authorities check every application against this list before accepting it. At the core is the completed application form (available from the council or its website), a site location map at a specified scale showing the site outlined in red, and detailed drawings including a site layout plan, floor plans, elevations and, where relevant, sections showing the relationship to neighbouring buildings and ground levels.

You must also submit evidence that the pre-application notice requirements have been met: a copy of the site notice as erected (with a statutory declaration or evidence of when it was erected) and the newspaper notice as published, both worded in the prescribed format and dated within two weeks of each other and of the application. Missing, incorrectly worded, or out-of-date notices are one of the most common reasons an application is returned as invalid.

Depending on what is proposed, additional reports may be mandatory: a site suitability assessment and percolation test results where a septic tank or other on-site wastewater treatment system is proposed, a flood risk assessment in areas at risk of flooding, an appropriate assessment screening statement where the site is near a Natura 2000 site, or a traffic and parking statement for larger developments. The council's validation checklist, usually published on its website, sets out exactly what is required for different categories of development.