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Submissions & Appeals

Submissions and Appeals

Submissions to the planning authority and appeals to An Coimisiún Pleanála, argued on the planning merits with evidence.

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.

We take on submissions and appeals selectively, only where there is a genuine planning case.

We are selective about the submissions and appeals we take on. We act where there is a genuine planning case: a proposal that is poorly conceived, overbearing in scale, or that fails to respect the character and context of its setting. Where a development is sound, we will say so.

Once Part 4 commences, 2026 a submission, or an appeal by anyone other than the applicant, on a file under the Planning and Development Act 2024 must be accompanied by a declaration under section 588 that it is not made to delay the development or to obtain a payment, and a submission to a planning authority must follow the prescribed form: a short summary where it runs over 1,000 words, no links, images or unlicensed attachments, and the relevant facts only. The draft form states that a submission that breaks the format is invalid. We prepare every submission and appeal to those requirements; the form is explained in making a submission once Part 4 commences.

That discipline is what gives our representations weight. A submission grounded in policy, precedent and sound planning judgement is likely to carry more influence with a planning authority or An Coimisiún Pleanála than a generic objection, and experience as a fee-per-case planning inspector with An Coimisiún Pleanála informs how a case is put to a decision-maker.

Instructions

Where a Submission or Appeal Is the Right Step

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Third-Party Submissions

Observations on a planning application during the public-consultation period, setting out clear, policy-based grounds where a proposal would cause genuine harm.

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Appeals to an Coimisiún Pleanála

First- and third-party appeals, preparing the grounds, the planning argument and the supporting evidence to the standard the Commission expects.

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Development-Plan Submissions

Informed submissions during the preparation or review of a development plan, where zoning, objectives or policy wording matter to a client's interest.

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Context & Impact Appraisal

An assessment of whether a scheme respects its context in scale, massing, overlooking, traffic and amenity, and whether a case stands up.

Our approach

How We Prepare a Submission

  • › We assess the merits first. If there is no real planning case, the client is told so.
  • › We argue on planning grounds, not noise: policy conflict, material contravention, context and amenity, precedent.
  • › We write to the decision-maker. Knowing how inspectors weigh a case shapes how we make it.
  • › We respect the system. Better-considered development is the goal, not obstruction for its own sake.
A note on what we won't do. We don't lodge speculative or vexatious objections. Our reputation, and the influence of our submissions, depends on only making cases that deserve to be made.

A Significant Scheme Nearby

The practice acts for residents' associations, businesses, landowners and public bodies on significant schemes, and gives a frank view at the outset on whether there is a case worth making.

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