An Coimisiún Pleanála (An Coimisiún) is the national independent statutory body with responsibility for the determination of planning appeals and direct applications for strategic infrastructure and other developments under Planning and Development Act 2024, as amended, and certain other Acts.
The information requested is set out in the table below. The statistics on one-off housing for which An Coimisiún's decision was either to grant or refuse permission between 1 January 2022 and 31 July 2026, broken down by year.
An additional category has been included of ‘within 18 weeks’ for this analysis, as the Statutory Objective Period for Normal Planning Appeals is generally 18 weeks.
|
-
|
3 months
|
6 months
|
9 months
|
12 months
|
15 months
|
18 months
|
2 years
|
2 years
|
|
|
|
Year Disposed
|
Between 0-12 Weeks
|
between 12-24 Weeks
|
between 24 - 36 weeks
|
between 36 -48 weeks
|
between 48 - 60 weeks
|
between 60 - 72
|
between 72 -96 weeks
|
96+ weeks
|
Total Cases Refused/Granted
|
Within 18 weeks
|
|
2022
|
0
|
89
|
77
|
59
|
19
|
7
|
5
|
1
|
257
|
37
|
|
2023
|
0
|
44
|
10
|
25
|
91
|
209
|
68
|
4
|
451
|
30
|
|
2024
|
1
|
59
|
125
|
132
|
138
|
55
|
44
|
6
|
560
|
19
|
|
2025
|
7
|
323
|
58
|
45
|
48
|
18
|
7
|
2
|
508
|
266
|
|
End July 2026
|
3
|
213
|
24
|
10
|
4
|
4
|
3
|
2
|
263
|
137
|
|
Total
|
11
|
728
|
294
|
271
|
300
|
293
|
127
|
15
|
2039
|
489
|
Regarding delays in decision-making, a key contributor to this was the reduction in the number of Board Members during 2022 and 2023. A backlog of cases did arise; however, with the increase in the complement of Board Members and the efforts of all staff and Board Members, the backlog reduced significantly over time. The caseload of An Coimisiún, from a high of over 3,600 cases in May 2023, was reduced to a caseload of 1,569 at the end of December 2024 and 1,307 at the end of 2025.
The longest period for a decision was for a case that was lodged on 22 November 2019 and decided on 22 November 2022. The case was subject to Judicial Review, which caused a significant delay.
An Coimisiún is cognisant of the importance of ensuring the flow of housing decisions across all residential applications, from one-off housing to large-scale residential developments, is as expeditious as possible.
Part 4 of the Planning and Development Act 2024, as amended, will be commenced later this month. Part 4 will introduce statutory time limits for decisions of An Coimisiún Pleanála, which will be closely monitored as part of the performance dialogue between An Coimisiún and my Department, and this is a key area of focus for management and the Governing Board. An Coimisiún and my Department have worked closely together over recent years in order to ensure that it is properly resourced to address the backlog that arose in previous years and to prepare for the commencement of Part 4.
Arrangements have been put in place by all bodies under the aegis of my Department to facilitate the provision of information directly to members of the Oireachtas. This provides a speedy, efficient and cost-effective system to address queries directly to the relevant bodies. The contact email address for An Coimisiún Pleanála in this regard is mail to:Oireachtasqueries@pleanala.ie.
