How do I search planning applications in South Dublin?

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 South Dublin is South Dublin County Council; each 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 South Dublin have the most planning activity?

By applications within 2 km of the town centre in the last three years: Templeogue (824), Rathfarnham (813), Lucan (519), Knocklyon (501), Adamstown (360). Counts include extensions, one-off houses and changes of use, not only housing schemes.

Do I need planning permission for an extension in South Dublin?

The rules are national, not local. Since 27 July 2026 an extension to the rear of a house is exempt up to 45 square metres (40 before that date), counting every earlier extension, with limits on height, distance from boundaries and the garden left over (at least 25 square metres). Anything to the front, or beyond those limits, needs permission from the council. A Section 5 declaration from the council confirms in writing whether a specific job is exempt. Details in the guide on the 2026 planning exemptions.

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 · South Dublin County Council

Planning permission in South Dublin: 4,825 applications

4,825 planning applications were lodged within 2 km of the centres of 13 towns in South Dublin in the last three years, 75 of them for ten homes or more (11,995 units). Below: how to search the South Dublin County Council register, the busiest towns, the largest schemes on file, and what to check around one house before you bid.

Figures compiled from the public records listed at the foot of this page. Data snapshot: 2 October 2026. Updated when the records change.

Check one house in South Dublin

4,825 planning applications around 13 towns in South Dublin in three years, 75 for ten homes or more.

One specific house in South Dublin: planning applications within 300 m of that Eircode, the house's own planning file, flood zone, radon, BER, sale history. Thirty-eight checks in all, each linked to the public record.

€19.99, free snapshot first. No account.

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

4,825

planning applications within 2 km of 13 town centres in the last three years

of them for 10 homes or more

11,995

residential units in those large applications

How to search planning applications in South Dublin

Short answer: open the national planning applications map, type the address or Eircode, and every application lodged with any council appears as a dot you can click. For the full file (drawings, reports, conditions, appeal) go to the council’s own register, South Dublin County Council. Both are free.

National map first. Search the address on nationalplanningapplications.ie, then zoom out to the 300 m around it. Each dot is an application with its reference number, description and decision.
Then the council register. Search by the reference number, the address or a map area on the South Dublin County Council register.
South Dublin County Council: search planning applications.
Zoning last. The MyPlan.ie zoning map shows what the land around the house is allowed to become under the current development plan, which the register cannot tell you until someone applies.

For a house you are about to bid on, the paid report does all three for the Eircode: every application within 300 m with its decision, the house’s own planning and building-control files, and the zoning of the fields around it.

Where the planning office is busiest in South Dublin

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.

Templeogue	824 applications, 4 large
Rathfarnham	813 applications, 1 large
Lucan	519 applications, 8 large
Knocklyon	501 applications, 8 large
Adamstown	360 applications, 7 large
Tallaght	315 applications, 8 large
Clondalkin	314 applications, 5 large
Tallaght Dublin 24	313 applications, 8 large
Palmerstown	310 applications, 5 large
Citywest	182 applications, 5 large
Saggart	168 applications, 8 large
Rathcoole	116 applications, 3 large
Newcastle	90 applications, 5 large

Largest schemes on file in South Dublin

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

886 units, Adamstown, lodged 2025-09, final grant (South Dublin County Council): This Application is being made in accordance with the Adamstown Planning Scheme 2014 (as amended) and relates to Phase 2 of development within the 'Adamstown Boulevard Development Area' (Development Area 10) of the Adams
660 units, Lucan, lodged 2025-06, decision (South Dublin County Council): Cairn Homes Properties Limited intend to apply for a 7 year planning permission for development at a site of c.15.6 hectares (on two land parcels) known as 'Development Area 9' Kishoge South East, Sub Sectors KSE-S1 and
611 units, Citywest, lodged 2025-12, appeal decided (South Dublin County Council): Kelland Homes Ltd. and Evara Developments Ltd. wish to apply for permission for a Large-scale Residential Development (LRD) on a site located at Boherboy, Saggart, County Dublin. To the immediate north of the site is the
594 units, Clondalkin, lodged 2023-10, decision (South Dublin County Council): Construction of a mixed-use development comprising 594 apartments, office floorspace, 4 retail units, a creche and urban square in the Clonburris Development Areas CUCS3 & CSWS3 of the Clonburris SDZ Planning Scheme 2019
565 units, Clondalkin, lodged 2023-11, decision (South Dublin County Council): 7 year Planning Permission for development at site of c. 13.75 hectares (on 2 parcels of land consisting of construction of 565 dwellings (mixture of apartments, duplex apartments and houses) in the Clonburris Developmen
502 units, Knocklyon, lodged 2025-08, appeal decided (South Dublin County Council): The proposed development will consist of 502 no. residential units (108no. 1-bed, 170no. 2-bed, 162 no. 3-bed; 62 no. 4-bed) comprising 197no. 2 storey houses (terraced/semi-detached/detached) (19no. 2-bed, 116no. 3-bed;
408 units, Clondalkin, lodged 2026-08, referral (South Dublin County Council): The proposed development will consist of the demolition of the existing warehouses and structures on the site and the construction of a mixed-use residential led development comprising a total of 408 no. residential unit
385 units, Adamstown, lodged 2023-11, decision (South Dublin County Council): 385 dwelling units (139 houses, 70 Build-to-Rent duplex / apartments, 72 duplex / apartments and 104 apartments), ranging between two to six storeys in height comprising the following: - Total of 139 houses consisting of

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.

Other checks for Dublin

Designated parts of the Fingal County Council area are in the Defective Concrete Blocks grant scheme (mica and pyrite in blocks). Only those parts are covered, not the whole county, so ask the council whether a particular address is inside the designated area.

Dublin is in the pyrite belt. Houses built roughly 1997 to 2013 with hardcore from the affected quarries may have heave in floors; the Pyrite Resolution Board ran the remediation scheme. The report flags the build years and the scheme for the exact house.

Planning applications by town in the South Dublin County Council area

Lucan519 applications
Clondalkin314 applications
Rathfarnham813 applications
Tallaght315 applications
Tallaght Dublin 24313 applications
Citywest182 applications
Saggart168 applications
Adamstown360 applications
Rathcoole116 applications
Templeogue824 applications
Newcastle90 applications
Knocklyon501 applications
Palmerstown310 applications

Other checks for Dublin

Planning in Dublin

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

Questions people ask

How do I search planning applications in South Dublin?: 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 South Dublin is South Dublin County Council; each 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 South Dublin have the most planning activity?: By applications within 2 km of the town centre in the last three years: Templeogue (824), Rathfarnham (813), Lucan (519), Knocklyon (501), Adamstown (360). Counts include extensions, one-off houses and changes of use, not only housing schemes.
Do I need planning permission for an extension in South Dublin?: The rules are national, not local. Since 27 July 2026 an extension to the rear of a house is exempt up to 45 square metres (40 before that date), counting every earlier extension, with limits on height, distance from boundaries and the garden left over (at least 25 square metres). Anything to the front, or beyond those limits, needs permission from the council. A Section 5 declaration from the council confirms in writing whether a specific job is exempt. Details in the guide on the 2026 planning exemptions.
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.