Planning applications in County Galway: the last 12 months
2,384 planning applications were lodged with the county's 2 planning authorities (Galway County Council and Galway City Council) in the 12 months to 13 October 2026, up 6.3% on the 12 months before. Of the applications decided in the same period, 84.3% were granted. Every one of them is on the public register — and the one that matters to a buyer is the one next door.
By planning authority
| Authority | Lodged | Granted | Refused |
|---|---|---|---|
| Galway County Council | 2,026 | 1,535 | 292 |
| Galway City Council | 358 | 276 | 45 |
Applications lodged, county by county
- Dublin4,724
- Cork3,432
- Donegal2,579
- Galway2,384
- Meath1,851
- Kildare1,608
- Tipperary1,532
- Limerick1,493
- Wicklow1,401
- Mayo1,362
- Kerry1,282
- Wexford1,278
- Clare1,228
- Waterford1,149
- Laois1,063
- Louth1,044
- Kilkenny926
- Offaly864
- Cavan786
- Westmeath720
- Roscommon715
- Monaghan690
- Sligo560
- Carlow466
- Longford311
- Leitrim254
Why a buyer should look before bidding
A listing describes the house as it is today. The planning register describes what could change around it: an extension next door, a new estate on the field behind, a change of use on the corner. Applications nearby are not bad news in themselves — most are small domestic works, and most are granted — but a large scheme close by changes light, traffic and what the house is worth to the next buyer.
Once you own the home, the same register is how you hear about a neighbour's plans in time. Observations must reach the council within five weeks of the date it received the application, so the site notice on a fence is not a reliable way to find out.
Figures: the National Planning Applications register (Department of Housing and the local authorities, CC BY 4.0) — applications by received date between 14 October 2025 and 13 October 2026, and decisions by decision date in the same window. A grant includes conditional grants and retention permissions; refusals count refused permission and refused retention.
How a VeriSale report checks it for one address
VeriSale lists every planning application within 250 m of the property, with distance and decision, notes applications whose site boundary covers the property itself, reads the land-use zoning at the point and the development land nearby, and combines them into a neighbour-development-risk grade.
- A live application’s site boundary covers the propertyFlagged: “read the full file before proceeding.”
- Permission granted on the propertyFlagged mid: “confirm what was built matches what was permitted.”
- Applications nearbyCounted, with how many fall in the last five years; the grade eases as activity falls off.
- Neighbour development riskHigh, Moderate or Low — a grade that also counts land already zoned for building within reach of the property.
This is one of 39 checks in the report, each graded A–F with a plain-language summary. The report compiles public data; it is not a survey or legal advice. More about planning nearby and how to read it.
What to ask before you bid
- Are there any live or recently granted permissions on neighbouring sites, and what do they allow?
- Were all extensions and alterations on this property built in line with the permission (or exempt), and can the seller provide the certificates of compliance?
- What is the zoning of the open land nearest the property under the current development plan?
Frequently asked questions
How many planning applications are made in County Galway?
2,384 applications were lodged with the county's 2 planning authorities (Galway County Council and Galway City Council) in the 12 months to 13 October 2026, up 6.3% on the 12 months before, on the national planning register. That is the 4th most of Ireland's 26 counties.
What share of planning applications are granted in Galway?
Of the applications decided in the same 12 months, 84.3% were granted (1,811 granted, 337 refused), against 89.3% nationally. Withdrawn and invalid applications, exemption requests and split decisions are left out of that rate.
How do I check planning applications near a house in County Galway?
Enter the address or Eircode on VeriSale. The report lists every application on the national register within 250 m — what it is, how close it is and how it was decided — and checks whether an application's site boundary covers the property itself, which is the strongest signal there is.
How long do I have to object to a planning application?
Observations must reach the planning authority within five weeks of the date it received the application, with a €20 fee. The window runs from that date, not from when you first notice the site notice, so a neighbouring application can be past the deadline before you see it.
Is every Galway application on the national register?
The register aggregates every local authority's planning system, so the county's 2 planning authorities (Galway County Council and Galway City Council) are covered up to 13 October 2026. The council's own planning search holds the full documents for each file.
Check a Galway property now
Enter any address or Eircode and read this check — and the other 38 — for the exact property, in minutes.
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