What is a request for further information in Irish planning?

A request for further information, commonly called an RFI, is issued by the local authority when the planning officer needs more information before being able to properly assess an application. It might ask for revised drawings, an additional report (such as a site suitability assessment, drainage details, or a bat survey), clarification of a discrepancy in the plans, or a response to specific concerns raised by an internal consultee or a third-party observer.

An RFI stops the statutory eight-week decision clock. You have up to six months to respond, though most applicants respond much sooner; if you do not respond within that period, the application is deemed withdrawn and any resubmission requires a fresh application, fresh notices and a fresh fee. Once you submit a full response, the council restarts a further period to make its decision, and if the response involves significant new information, the application may be re-advertised, giving the public a further opportunity to comment.

There is an important distinction between further information (which the applicant is not obliged to provide, though failing to do so leads to a deemed withdrawal or, in some cases, a refusal) and additional information the council may seek that does not require re-advertisement. It is also possible in some circumstances for the council to indicate that if the further information is not satisfactory, it is minded to refuse - giving the applicant a clearer sense of the stakes before responding.