How to object to that monstrosity planned next door

So your neighbour wants to build a large extension to their home and is applying for planning permission. This is a scenario more and more home owners will face as market conditions and lack of finance force people to remain in situ and extend rather than trade up to another property. Any adult, Irish or otherwise, can object to any planning application, or planning granted, anywhere in Ireland, even if they don’t live in the same street, same county or even same country. And it can bring results, even if not all the time. The latest figures indicate that more than one-third of all third-party planning appeals in 2007 were successful in that An Bord Pleanála either refused, or amended, permission granted to a developer/first party by a local authority. Ideally a neighbour will have outlined their plans and will provide an opportunity to discuss issues that are of concern, such as privacy, light, noise and impact on property values.

The Irish Times