Laois planning permission: how often it is granted, and how long it takes
In the 12 months to 3 November 2026, Laois decided 584 planning applications: 542 were granted (93%) and 42 were refused. Half of the decisions came within 55 days, and nine in ten within 197 days.
The figures
- Granted
- 93%about 1 in 14 refused 75%100%
- Median wait for a decision
- 55 days 45105 days
- Nine in ten decided within
- 197 days 110260 days
- Asked for more information
- 39%
- Decisions in the 12 months
- 584grants and refusals; invalid, withdrawn and other outcomes left out
- One-off houses
- 51 decisions, 88% granted
- Last application in the register
- 30 October 2026
Applications filed each year
- 2019729
- 2020697
- 2021893
- 2022790
- 2023821
- 2024924
- 2025994
- 2026843
The hatched bar is a part year: the register's last application for Laois was received on 30 October 2026.
How Laois compares with the other councils
Laois ranks 10th of 30 councils on the share of applications granted, with 93%, close to the 90% of the median council. Its median wait matches that of the median council: 55 days. Nine in ten decisions came within 197 days, against 209 days at the median council.
The register records a request for further information on 39% of all the decisions it records, in line with the median council (39%). For the 51 decisions flagged as one-off houses, the share granted (88%) is close to the council's overall figure.
Applications are up. Laois received 994 in 2025, 36% more than the 729 of 2019. 2025 was the busiest full year in the register since 2019.
What Laois reported for 2025
Laois ruled 359 applications invalid, the seventh-highest count in the country, although 17 councils had larger category totals than its 591. Other buildings for social use are its second group, with 110, the third-highest number after Limerick and Kilkenny. Dwellings lead with 397 and farm buildings follow with 51, while commercial premises (22) and industrial sites (3) are few. Refusals were rare, 32 across categories, 26 of them on houses. Public buildings (8) complete a return that has nothing under civil engineering or other functional categories. Social-use buildings, the county's second group, drew 3 refusals, and 356 applications were decided within 8 weeks. The gap between many invalid applications and few refusals is what stands out in this return. Laois filings rose in every year from 2022 to 2025, from 790 to 994. Laois counted more social-use buildings than Dublin City, Meath and Cork County, councils with larger returns.
These figures come from each council's annual return to the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage: applications received in 2025, decisions to refuse and other measures, published under a CC BY-SA 4.0 licence. An application that fits several categories is counted in each, so the categories do not add up to a number of applications, and the Department notes that councils may have read its guidance in slightly different ways.
Following an application in Laois
In the national register, Laois applications link to their files on eplanning.ie/LaoisCC.
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