Guides › Site constraints reports
Site constraints and pre-planning reports in Ireland: what they cover
A site constraints report (sometimes sold as a pre-planning report or site appraisal) gathers everything on public
record that could limit what you can build on a site: planning policy and history, flood risk, heritage, protected
nature sites, ground and water, and services. Most of it comes from the same public datasets, which InSite checks for
any site, free.
How InSite helps
- InSite produces most of a desk constraints report for any site in Ireland, free, from the same public sources in the table below.
- It checks the whole plot once you confirm the boundary, and says where each source has gaps (unassessed flood areas, councils without RPS data).
- What it leaves for a professional: the site visit, ground tests and the planning judgement.
Free, from public data. Enter an Eircode or address:
or choose a location on the map
What a constraints report usually covers
| Topic | Typical public source | Guide |
|---|
| Boundary and area | Tailte Éireann registry map | Boundaries |
| Zoning | Council development plans (national zoning data) | Zoning |
| Planning history | National Planning Application Database | Applications |
| Flood risk | OPW flood maps | Flood |
| Archaeology | National Monuments Service SMR and zones | Archaeology |
| Built heritage | Council RPS and ACAs, NIAH | RPS/ACA, NIAH |
| Nature designations | NPWS SACs, SPAs, NHAs | SAC/SPA |
| Geology, soil, groundwater | Geological Survey Ireland, EPA soil map | Geology, vulnerability |
| Environmental hazards | EPA radon, landfills, licensed sites | Radon, hazards |
| Services | ESB capacity, EPA wastewater, Census water supply, ComReg | Connections |
What a desk report can't do
- See the site. Sightlines, drainage, boundaries on the ground and neighbouring uses need a visit.
- Test the ground. Percolation, bearing capacity and contamination need trial holes and tests.
- Judge the planning case. Local need, design and the planner's view are for an architect, planning
consultant and the council.
- Be complete. Public datasets have gaps: unassessed flood areas, unrecorded archaeology, councils
that don't publish their RPS. A good report says where they are.
When to get a professional
For a simple one-off house, a desk check plus a site assessor and an architect is usually enough. Larger, sensitive or
contested sites, or ones near European sites or monuments, justify a planning consultant, ecologist or archaeologist
early.
Last reviewed 2026-10-02.
Check any site in Ireland
One free report from public data: terrain, flood risk, geology, archaeology, protected areas, radon, planning history and more.
or choose a location on the map
Related guides
- Before you buy a siteA checklist of what to find out about a site before you buy it: title, planning, access, services, ground and protections.
- Is my site buildable?The constraints that most often stop or shape a new house in Ireland, and how to check each one early.
- Septic tanks and percolation testsThe EPA Code figures: how percolation tests work, what passes, how big the percolation area is, and how far it must be from houses, wells and streams.
- Local need and rural housingWhy councils ask about local need for a one-off rural house, how the policy varies by county, and how to check yours.
- Connecting a new houseHow to get electricity, water, wastewater and broadband to a new house, and what to find out before you buy the site.
- Planning permission, step by stepFrom pre-planning to the final grant: notices, the eight-week decision, further information, appeals and conditions.
- Pre-planning meetingsHow to request a pre-planning meeting with your council, what it can and can't tell you, and how to prepare.
All guides →
