By Amy Rose Harte

PLANNERS in Donegal County Council have been criticised for not delivering good quality design as set out by architects, according to a new survey.

The council came 13th out of a total 38 when architects across the country were asked to rate local authorities in terms of how they deal with planning applications.

The survey was carried out by the Royal Association of Architects in Ireland (RIAI) and released yesterday (Thursday).

Several hundred architects participated in the survey which saw planners in Donegal get a rating of 5.04 out of 10 in terms of how well they manage applications.

Four percent of respondents said they were aware of an on-the-spot validation service provided by planners in the county, while 35 percent said they didn't know.

Respondents to the survey also believed planners in Donegal, Monaghan and Cavan were under-qualified, under-trained and in need of education, in line with national trends.

"very poor"

Others felt dissatisfied with the system, saying the planning system was "very poor" and "frustrating to work with", while a some called for a standard planning body with standard rules.

The survey also found that Donegal County Council receives the highest number of planning applications lodged by architects in the country. The council got a mean average of 24.35 applications over the last two years, nearly twice that of the next highest recipient, Roscommon County Council at 14.05.

Overall, architects found there was a lack of consistency among local authorities which was wasting the resources of architects who have lodged planning applications as well as that of the local authorities themselves.

"The survey results show that we are not in a position to deliver quality in the built environment with current planning practices," RIAI president Seán Ó Laoire said, adding that it was up to the Department of the Environment to improve things.

In the survey of 392 architects, carried out by Behaviour and Attitudes, Sligo County Council was rated as the best planning service provider and Clare County Council as the poorest in terms of dealing with planning applications.

One-third of all planning applications made by the architects who responded to the survey were in Dublin, with 22 per cent in the rest of Leinster, 26 per cent in Munster and the rest in Connaught/Ulster.