How do I search planning applications in Co. Donegal?

Two ways. The national planning applications map (nationalplanningapplications.ie) carries every council's register on one map: search the address, then look at the streets around it. The planning authority for the towns on this page is Donegal County Council; each also runs its own online planning search with the full file, drawings and decision. For a house you are buying, the 300 m around it matters more than the town count.

Which towns in Co. Donegal have the most planning activity?

By applications within 2 km of the town centre in the last three years: Letterkenny (283), Buncrana (216), Bundoran (80), Lifford (41). Counts include extensions, one-off houses and changes of use, not only housing schemes.

Does planning permission nearby change what a house is worth?

A granted permission for a large scheme behind the house can take light, a view or parking, and it means construction traffic for two years. It can also add a school or a shop. Read the description, the decision and the appeal status before you bid. The report lists every application within 300 m of the Eircode with that detail, and checks the house's own planning and building-control file.

Planning applications · Co. Donegal

Planning applications in Co. Donegal: 620 in three years

620 planning applications were lodged within 2 km of the centres of 4 towns in Co. Donegal in the last three years, 13 of them for ten homes or more (682 units). Below: the busiest towns, the largest schemes on file, and what to check around one house before you bid.

620

planning applications within 2 km of 4 town centres in the last three years

of them for 10 homes or more

682

residential units in those large applications

Where the planning office is busiest in Co. Donegal

Applications lodged within 2 km of each town centre since 2023, from the national planning register. A high count means an active town, not necessarily housing estates: extensions, one-off rural houses, shopfronts and retention applications all count.

Letterkenny	283 applications, 11 large
Buncrana	216 applications, 1 large
Bundoran	80 applications, 1 large
Lifford	41 applications

Largest schemes on file in Co. Donegal

Applications for ten homes or more near the towns above, largest first, with the status recorded on the register when this page was built:

171 units, Letterkenny, lodged 2026-06, new application (Donegal County Council): A PERIOD OF 10 YEARS FOR A LARGE-SCALE RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT (LRD) CONSISTING OF THE PROVISION OF A TOTAL OF 346 NO. RESIDENTIAL UNITS ALONG WITH THE PROVISION OF A NEIGHBOURHOOD CENTRE THAT WILL INCORPORATE A CRECHE.
100 units, Letterkenny, lodged 2025-08, application finalised (Donegal County Council): A LARGE-SCALE RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT (LRD) CONSISTING OF (A) 260 NO. RESIDENTIAL UNITS, CONSISTING OF 100 NO DWELLINGS AND 160 NO APARTMENTS (B) A NEIGHBOURHOOD CENTRE CONTAINING A SHOP UNIT AND A CRECHE (C) CONSTRUCTIO
94 units, Bundoran, lodged 2025-06, application finalised (Donegal County Council): A PERIOD OF 10 YEARS FOR DEVELOPMENT CONSISTING OF (1) DEMOLITION OF 2 NO. DETACHED DWELLING HOUSES ALONG WITH ASSOCIATED SHEDS, (2) CONSTRUCTION OF 91 NO. NEW DWELLING HOUSES IN A MIX OF 17 NO. DETACHED DWELLINGS (IN A
68 units, Letterkenny, lodged 2025-10, application finalised (Donegal County Council): ERECTION OF 82 NO. DWELLING UNITS WITH CONNECTION TO PUBLIC SEWER AND ALL ASSOCIATED SITE DEVELOPMENT WORKS AS PART OF THE EXISTING HOUSING DEVELOPMENT
60 units, Letterkenny, lodged 2026-03, further information (Donegal County Council): (1) CONSTRUCTION OF 60 NO. DWELLINGS, (2) ALL ASSOCIATED SITE DEVELOPMENT WORKS INCLUDING CARPARKING, LANDSCAPED AMENITY AREAS, SURFACED PLAY AREAS AND SEATING AREAS AND (3) ALL ANCILLARY SITE WORKS TO INCLUDE CONNECTION
28 units, Letterkenny, lodged 2025-11, application finalised (Donegal County Council): REVISIONS TO PREVIOUSLY APPROVED PLANNING REF. NOS. 19/51064 & 22/51830 AND EXTENDED UNDER PLANNING REF. NOS. 25/50028 & 25/50027 WITH REVISIONS TO INCLUDE: (1) CHANGE OF HOUSE TYPE ON SITE NOS. 25 TO 52 INCL. (28 NO. DW
14 units, Buncrana, lodged 2024-03, application finalised (Donegal County Council): ERECTION OF 14 NO. SEMI-DETACHED TWO STOREY DWELLINGS, CONNECTION TO EXISTING PUBLIC SERVICES AND ALL ASSOCIATED SITE WORKS
10 units, Letterkenny, lodged 2025-12, application finalised (Donegal County Council): CONSTRUCTION OF (1) BLOCK A CONTAINING 8 NO. 2 STOREY TERRACED HOUSES WITH 6 NO. APARTMENTS AT LOWER LEVEL OF SITE, BLOCK B CONTAINING 2 NO. SEMI-DETACHED HOUSES AT LOWER LEVEL OF SITE (TOTAL NO. OF UNITS = 16), (2) ALL

A permission that is granted but not yet built is invisible at a viewing. The register shows it. So does the zoning map for the fields around the house, which says what they are allowed to become.

Check one house in Co. Donegal

The area tells you the odds. The report tells you about the house.

Enter the Eircode. The free snapshot shows which of the twenty-nine checks flag up. The full report (€24.99, one house, no account) lists every planning application within 300 m of the house with status, decision and appeal, checks the property's own planning and building-control file, and shows the zoning of the land around it.

Or read the sample report first: a real house, 16 pages.

Other checks for Co. Donegal

Co. Donegal is one of the five counties in the Defective Concrete Blocks grant scheme (mica). For any house built 1990 to 2015, the report checks the scheme designation and tells you what to ask the seller about block testing.

Planning applications by town in Co. Donegal

GuidePlanning search before buying a house: the three files that matter

Questions people ask

How do I search planning applications in Co. Donegal?: Two ways. The national planning applications map (nationalplanningapplications.ie) carries every council's register on one map: search the address, then look at the streets around it. The planning authority for the towns on this page is Donegal County Council; each also runs its own online planning search with the full file, drawings and decision. For a house you are buying, the 300 m around it matters more than the town count.
Which towns in Co. Donegal have the most planning activity?: By applications within 2 km of the town centre in the last three years: Letterkenny (283), Buncrana (216), Bundoran (80), Lifford (41). Counts include extensions, one-off houses and changes of use, not only housing schemes.
Does planning permission nearby change what a house is worth?: A granted permission for a large scheme behind the house can take light, a view or parking, and it means construction traffic for two years. It can also add a school or a shop. Read the description, the decision and the appeal status before you bid. The report lists every application within 300 m of the Eircode with that detail, and checks the house's own planning and building-control file.

Sources

National planning applications map

Area figures, compiled from public records. They describe the town or county, not any one house. The paid report checks the exact Eircode.