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Publication duties
An Irish planning authority must publish its development plan review notice on its own website and in a newspaper. The site must carry the draft plan, the environmental report, the submissions and the chief executive's report. Each item has its own statutory window. Public sector websites also need a published accessibility statement.
A reference note from Dan Malone, who builds software products.
The rule
“A notice under subsection (1) shall be published on a website maintained by or on behalf of the planning authority and in at least one newspaper circulating in the functional area of the planning authority.”
The facts
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Plan cycle | A planning authority must make a development plan for its functional area every 10 years. The plan has effect for 10 years from the date it comes into effect. The Minister may extend that period by up to 2 more years. Source |
| When the review starts | The authority must commence the review not later than 8 years after the making of each development plan. Source |
| Where the first notice goes | The notice of intention to review must go on a website maintained by or on behalf of the planning authority. It must also appear in at least one newspaper circulating in the area. Source |
| First submission window | The notice must give a submission period of not less than 8 weeks from the date of the notice. It must state that children, or groups representing children, can make submissions. Source |
| Pre-draft submissions go online in 5 weeks | Written submissions at the review stage must go on the authority's website within 5 weeks of receipt. A brief summary of any oral submissions must also go on the website within 5 weeks of receipt. At the draft plan stage and at the material alteration stage the deadline is 10 working days. Exceptions cover vexatious or libellous material. They also cover unconsented third-party confidential information. They cover material the authority is legally advised not to publish, and prescribed matters. Source |
| Draft plan display period | The draft plan must be open to inspection on the authority's website and at a named place. The same applies to any screening determination, the SEA environmental report and any Natura impact report. The period is not less than 8 weeks from the date of the notice. Source |
| Material alteration stage | Notice of a material alteration must go on the website and in a newspaper. This must happen not later than 3 weeks after the members pass the resolution. The inspection period is not less than 4 weeks from the date of that notice. The chief executive may extend the 3 weeks where an environmental report is needed for the alteration. The same applies where a Natura impact report is needed for the alteration. Source |
| Plans made under the old Act | A development plan made under the Planning and Development Act 2000 stays in force for 6 years. That period runs from when the plan came into effect. Or it stays until a new plan is made, whichever is shorter. Source |
| Failure to adopt in time | The members have 2 years from the section 54 notice to make the plan. Where that notice ran at least 12 weeks early, the period is 2 years and 12 weeks. If they miss it, the chief executive makes the plan. Source |
| Urban and priority area plans | For an urban area plan or priority area plan the inspection period is not less than 6 weeks. Submissions must go on the website within 10 working days of receipt. The chief executive report is due not later than 12 weeks from the notice. It is also published on the website. Source |
| Which Act applies now | Sections 42 to 81 of the Planning and Development Act 2024 commenced on 31 December 2025 under S.I. No. 633 of 2025. The repeal of sections 9 to 20 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 took effect on the same date. Source |
| Accessibility duty on the site | A public sector website must be perceivable, operable, understandable and robust. The body must publish an accessibility statement on that website, in the EU model format. The statement must carry a feedback link and links to redress. Redress covers the Equal Status Act 2000 and the Disability Act 2005. The National Disability Authority is the monitoring body. Source |
The artefact
What goes wrong
/01
The website notice goes live days after the newspaper notice. The display period on the site is then shorter than the statutory period.
/02
The closing date on the microsite does not match the date in the newspaper notice, so two deadlines circulate.
/03
Chapters and zoning maps are large scanned PDFs, so screen readers, phones and slow connections cannot use them.
/04
Submissions are published late, past the 5-week review-stage window or the 10-working-day draft-stage window. They are also published with third-party personal data that should have been withheld.
/05
The material alteration stage reuses the draft-stage page, so the shorter 4-week deadline sits behind stale content.
/06
The adopted plan replaces the draft at the same URL, so the consultation record and the submissions disappear.
/07
No accessibility statement is published on the microsite itself, only on the main council website.
/08
The microsite is built for one cycle, then left unmaintained. Plugins, links and contact details go stale before the next review.
/09
Interactive maps depend on a third-party service that is switched off, leaving the zoning layer blank with no PDF fallback.
Who supplies this
Consultation platform used for Irish local authority portals, including consult.carlow.ie. Handles staged consultations, submission intake and publication.
https://civiq.eu/consultation-platform
Citizen engagement and consultation platform used across UK and Irish public bodies for statutory consultations and submission records.
https://www.delib.net/citizen-space
GIS supplier for interactive zoning and land-use maps, ArcGIS Hub sites and web map layers. The layers sit beside the plan documents.
https://www.esri-ireland.ie
National planning information site run for the planning authorities. Useful as the reference source for plan and zoning data that a microsite links out to.
https://www.myplan.ie
Irish public procurement portal. A local authority normally buys a consultation platform or microsite build through a tender or a framework listed here.
https://www.etenders.gov.ie
Monitoring body for public sector web accessibility under S.I. No. 358 of 2020. Publishes the guidance and the monitoring reports a council site is measured against.
https://nda.ie
Send the duty, the deadline and where it has to sit. What comes back is a written scope for the page, or a straight answer that you do not need one.
Send the briefLast checked 2026-09-01 · Published 2026-09-01
This page is reference material, not legal advice. Your advisor owns what applies to you.