It’s hard to imagine a better monument to the hubris of the Celtic Tiger era than the sprawling, 588sq m house built by Chris and Rose Murray at Faughan Hill, Bohermeen in Co Meath. In June 2006, the Murrays were refused planning permission to build a 283 sq m dormer bungalow with a garage on the site. That battle has included five failed bids for retention permission and unsuccessful court proceedings, with two challenges still live before the European courts. On the one hand, everyone knows you haven’t up to now been able to build a shelter for your wheelie bins without planning permission. There is no nationally collated data on planning permission retention applications.

Source: The Irish Times March 21, 2026 14:36 UTC