Galway City: why applications are refused, and the conditions permissions carry
Counted from Galway City’s own decision notices: 296 of its 302 decisions made from 25 October 2025 to 25 October 2026 (98%). Findings, not verdicts — each figure is a share of the notices read.
- 296
- of 302 decisions, last 12 months
- 42
- of 42 refused or part refused
- 243
- of 260 granted or part granted
- 6
- the median permission read
Why applications are refused
Grounds cited in refusals
A notice counts once for each theme it cites, however often it cites it — the share of refusals refused at least partly on that ground. A notice can cite several, so the shares do not add up to 100%. The 12 most common of 13 are drawn; the table has them all.
Show the numbers
| Theme | Notices | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Contrary to development plan policy | 33 | 79% |
| Design, scale and visual impact | 22 | 52% |
| Neighbours' amenity (overlooking, overshadowing, overbearing) | 21 | 50% |
| Zoning and land use | 13 | 31% |
| Undesirable precedent | 10 | 24% |
| Density, layout and residential standards | 8 | 19% |
| Traffic safety, access and sightlines | 8 | 19% |
| Other | 6 | 14% |
| Protected structures, ACAs and archaeology | 6 | 14% |
| Insufficient information | 5 | 12% |
| Premature pending infrastructure or a plan | 4 | 10% |
| Environmental effects (noise, emissions, EIA) | 3 | 7% |
| Retail and town-centre policy | 3 | 7% |
The conditions permissions carry
Kinds of condition attached
A notice counts once for each theme it cites, however often it cites it — the share of permissions given at least one condition of that kind. A notice can cite several, so the shares do not add up to 100%. The 12 most common of 20 are drawn; the table has them all.
Show the numbers
| Theme | Notices | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Built as per the plans and particulars | 243 | 100% |
| Protecting neighbours (screening, glazing, noise, light) | 199 | 82% |
| Surface water and drainage (SuDS) | 176 | 72% |
| Construction hours and management | 175 | 72% |
| Restrictions on use or further development | 169 | 70% |
| Materials, finishes and design changes | 153 | 63% |
| Entrance, sightlines, roads and parking | 111 | 46% |
| Waste management | 101 | 42% |
| Other | 98 | 40% |
| Development contributions and security bonds | 88 | 36% |
| Uisce Éireann water and sewer connections | 73 | 30% |
| Landscaping, hedgerows, trees and boundaries | 59 | 24% |
| Estate completion, lighting, naming and taking in charge | 41 | 17% |
| Duration or temporary permission | 34 | 14% |
| Part V social housing | 29 | 12% |
| On-site wastewater treatment system | 24 | 10% |
| Archaeology and built heritage | 23 | 9% |
| Ecology (bats, nesting birds, AA mitigation) | 20 | 8% |
| Occupancy and local-need conditions | 18 | 7% |
| Energy, EV charging and climate | 16 | 7% |
By type of development
| Type | Notices read | Refusals: most cited | Permissions: most common conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alterations | 35100% of decisions | 3 read — too few |
|
| Extension | 7399% of decisions | 8 read — too few |
|
| Retention | 72100% of decisions | 15 read — too few |
|
Shares are of the refusals or permissions whose notice was read. The conditions column leaves out “built as per the plans and particulars”, which nearly every permission carries. A group with fewer than 30 notices read shows its count and no breakdown.
By town
Towns with at least 30 refusals or permissions read, listed alphabetically.
| Town | Notices read | Refusals: most cited | Permissions: most common conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Galway city and suburbs | 29698% of decisions |
|
|
Shares are of the refusals or permissions whose notice was read. The conditions column leaves out “built as per the plans and particulars”, which nearly every permission carries. A group with fewer than 30 notices read shows its count and no breakdown.
About the figures
PPI’s reader reads each decision notice, finds every refusal reason and condition in it word for word, and tags each with what it is about from a fixed list. A figure counts notices: a refusal citing flood risk in two of its reasons counts once for flood risk. Reasons and conditions the reader could not find word for word are not counted.
What a council refuses for, and the conditions it attaches, depend on what it was asked to decide as much as on the council. A group with fewer than 30 notices read shows its count and no breakdown. Every council read →
Source Galway City's decision notices, read and counted by PPI; no notice text is reproduced hereAlways confirm a decision against the council’s own register.