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How Do I Appeal a Decision I'm Unhappy With?

When a local authority grants or refuses permission, that decision can be appealed to An Coimisiún Pleanála. This guide covers who can appeal, by when, and what an appeal must contain.

Information, not advice. Much of the law described here is new and has not yet been tested in the courts or by An Coimisiún Pleanála, and it could be affected by challenge, amendment or further regulation. This page gives our reading of it. For a definitive answer on a particular property or application, engage with the relevant planning authority.
General guidance. This summarises the standard appeal process. Some case types have different rules and timeframes, and the detail of each case matters. It is general information, not formal advice. An appeal succeeds or fails on its planning grounds.
The deadline: an appeal must be made within 4 weeks of the date of the local authority's decision. The Act treats a late appeal as invalid, and the decision stands. The deadline calculator gives the last day for any file from its planning reference.

Who Can Appeal?

There are two main routes:

  • › First-party appeal: the applicant challenges a refusal, or a condition attached to a grant.
  • › Third-party appeal: a person who made a submission or observation on the application at the local-authority stage, and holds the acknowledgement, may appeal the decision or its conditions.

An owner of land bordering a site who did not make a submission has no appeal as of right. The owner must first apply for "leave to appeal" and meet strict conditions. If leave is granted, the appeal must be made within 2 weeks.

What a Valid Appeal Must Contain

  • › The appellant's name and address, and the planning agent's if one is acting.
  • › Enough detail to identify the application, the planning authority and register reference number, and a copy of the decision.
  • › The grounds of appeal, with supporting arguments, relating to planning issues only.
  • › The correct fee, and (for a third-party appeal) the authority's acknowledgement of the original submission.
The method of lodging matters. Appeals go in via An Coimisiún Pleanála's online platform, or by post or hand-delivery to their office. An appeal sent by email, dropped in a letterbox, or left with security is invalid. The online option must be completed in one session, prepare it fully first.

What Happens Next

An inspector assesses the appeal and the documents, usually visits the site, and writes a report and recommendation; the Commission then decides. It can grant, grant with amended conditions, or refuse. The appeal statistics show how often the Commission refuses a council grant or grants a refusal, by year, type of development and council. An oral hearing may be requested (€50, non-refundable, within the 4 weeks) but is generally reserved for complex or strategic cases.

An Coimisiún Pleanála aims to decide within 18 weeks, though complex cases take longer. Its decision replaces the council's. It can be challenged by judicial review in the High Court, on a point of law rather than the planning merits.

What It Costs

A fee applies, and it depends on the type of case and the relevant legislation, check An Coimisiún Pleanála's Fees Finder for the current amount. Appeals made only to annoy, delay, or without real substance can be dismissed, and withdrawing an appeal earns no refund.

Once Part 4 commences. An appeal against a decision on an application lodged on or after the day Part 4 commences is made under Part 12 of the Planning and Development Act 2024; an earlier application stays under the 2000 Act through to appeal (s.626). The four weeks and the rule that only the applicant and those who made a submission may appeal both carry over (s.360). Four things change. Every appeal other than the applicant's own must be accompanied by a declaration in the prescribed form that it is not made to delay the development or to obtain a payment or benefit, and the same declaration goes with any later withdrawal; a knowingly false declaration is an offence (s.588). A request for an oral hearing must be made with the appeal, with the fee; on our reading it cannot be added later (s.369(3)). The eighteen weeks appears to become a duty rather than an aim, with the appeal fee refunded if the Commission misses it (s.361). And asking an appellant for money or any benefit to withdraw is itself an offence (s.587). Judicial review runs under the new procedure, with no leave stage and eight weeks from the decision, where the application was made on or after 12 August 2026; for an earlier application sections 50 and 50A of the 2000 Act continue to apply (Part 9; s.50AA of the 2000 Act). See what changes for a third party.
The practice's role. Whether an appeal succeeds or is dismissed usually turns on the quality of the planning argument. Adam Kearney prepares appeals and also assesses them as a fee-per-case planning inspector for An Coimisiún Pleanála. See Submissions & Appeals.
Sources: Citizens Information, appealing a decision · An Coimisiún Pleanála, making an appeal · ACP Fees Finder

A Public Information Service

These guides and tools are published as a public service and are kept to the primary legislation. They are not a free advice line, and individual queries are not answered by email or phone. For a general question about a particular property, the planning authority's planning department and Citizens Information are the starting points, and a declaration under section 5 is the formal answer. Where a matter needs professional work, the practice takes instructions on a fee basis: from developers, landowners, investors and public bodies, and from private clients, for example on retention or regularisation of unauthorised development or a change of use, and occasionally a one-off house, subject to capacity.

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