How to buy or build in Ireland

Hey! I was hoping someone here could give some advice. I’m in my 30s and myself and my boyfriend are thinking of taking the next steps by moving out of Dublin down the country. However we have absolutely no idea how to do this.

We have saved a deposit up. But where we are looking in Ireland the houses for sale just aren’t ticking any boxes for us and we obviously want to move into somewhere we love if we will live there forever.

So we were thinking of building. Can someone please give advice on this process? Is the very first step buying a site? But what if the site is refused planning permission? Like will every site eventually be approved? My worry is we buy a site and can’t build, like what would be do then!

Any help or advice is appreciated. Please don’t be mean, just trying to get a grip on what to do. Thanks