Irish Planning Institute highlights urgent need for professional planners

Dublin City Council is the only local authority in Ireland to have a post staffed at the highest planning officer grade, that of planning officer, according to a new survey carried out by the Irish Planning Institute. It also reports that counties such as Carlow, Kerry and Waterford are among local authorities that do not have the services of a senior planner.
The survey indicates that 600 professional planners were working in local authorities in the Republic in 2006. But it indicated that just 150 of these were working in what was described as “forward planning” and just 30 planners were employed on enforcement issues.

The Institute says enforcement was the most frustrating aspect of planning for the public. It also says there was an urgent need for more professional planners to cope with economic development, population growth and environmental challenges.

In many cases the survey found that the senior officers in planning departments were not planners but engineers or other professional grade staff.

Dublin City Council was the only local authority to have a post staffed at the highest planning officer grade, that of planning officer. The council had one planning officer. The survey also found that the only Government department to employ planners was Environment. The Institute called for planners to be employed in Transport, Tourism, Enterprise, and Education.