Emmett Corcoran
Almost one in three planning applications made in Co Roscommon were declared invalid in 2023, placing the county among the highest in the State and well above the national average.
Figures published by the Office of the Planning Regulator (OPR), based on Department of Housing planning statistics, show that 31.6 per cent of applications in Roscommon were invalidated in 2023, compared with a national rate of 20.5 per cent.
Roscommon’s rate was also considerably higher than in neighbouring counties. In 2023, 24.5 per cent of applications in Leitrim were declared invalid, compared with 22.7 per cent in Galway County, 21 per cent in Longford, and just 9.1 per cent in Mayo.
An invalid application is not a planning refusal. It means an application has failed to meet preliminary statutory requirements, such as those relating to documentation, public notices, drawings or other particulars, and is returned before its planning merits are considered.
The disparity between Roscommon and the national average has persisted for a number of years.
Roscommon’s invalidation rate stood at 23.9 per cent in 2019, 22.5 per cent in 2020, 26.2 per cent in 2021, 29.2 per cent in 2022, and 31.6 per cent in 2023. The corresponding national rates were 16.4 per cent, 17.1 per cent, 15 per cent, 17.5 per cent, and 20.5 per cent respectively.
The OPR’s statutory review described Roscommon as one of the local authorities with the highest invalidation rates nationally. Across the five years from 2019 to 2023, the published figures show Roscommon’s rate ranged from 22.5 per cent to 31.6 per cent, compared with between 15 per cent and 20.5 per cent nationally, placing Roscommon among the authorities with the highest rates in the State.
More recent figures presented to Roscommon County Council in July 2024 indicated an improvement. The Chief Executive reported that the invalidation rate had fallen from 37 per cent to 21 per cent, compared with a national average of 18 per cent at that point.
The Council also reported that 88 per cent of planning applications had been approved during the first six months of 2024.
Figures for actual planning refusals present a less pronounced picture. In 2023, Roscommon County Council granted 88.1 per cent of applications on which it made a grant or refusal decision, compared with a national grant rate of 88.7 per cent. This equates to refusal rates of approximately 11.9 per cent in Roscommon and 11.3 per cent nationally.
Roscommon’s refusal rate was 10.1 per cent in 2019, 13.4 per cent in 2020, 12.6 per cent in 2021, and 14.2 per cent in 2022, showing fluctuation rather than a consistent upward trend.
The OPR said the main reason identified by the Council for refusals involving unserviced rural dwellings related to the safe treatment and disposal of wastewater and compliance with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) code of practice. Rural settlement policy and the siting and design of houses were also cited.
One-off housing nevertheless accounts for a significant proportion of residential development in Roscommon. The OPR found that more than half of residential units granted permission in the county during 2023 were one-off or single dwellings.
Roscommon-Galway TD Dr Martin Daly raised the issue in a parliamentary question to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage on July 9th.
Dr Daly sought the number of applications for one-off rural dwellings received by Roscommon and Galway County Councils between January 1st and July 1st 2026, together with the numbers granted and refused.
As the Roscommon People went to publication, no reply to the question had been posted on the Houses of the Oireachtas website.
