With the increase throughout the county of development in recent years, Donegal County Council is now dealing with reports of more than 100 unauthorised developments a year.
As a result, the council has a range of tough measures that are due to come on stream shortly as part of the Planning and Development Act 2000. These include a computerised system cataloguing all unauthorised developments, a dedicated legal team and a planning officer who will concentrate on rogue development.
According to Mr Pat McLaughlin, administration officer with the council's planning section, they are receiving reports of two to three unauthorised developments a week.
"Not all of them turn out to be unauthorised, but the majority do," said Mr McLaughlin.
Already the council is taking a harder line on those in breach of planning laws, with 33 enforcement notices being served in the first seven months of this year. These included unauthorised development of car sales premises, caravan parks, filling stations and non-compliance with planning permission.
According to Mr McLaughlin, the rise in unauthorised planning has risen at the same rate as general development in the county, which was boosted significantly with the increase in holiday home developments. The result has been a need to tighten and enforce planning regulations.
"In the last two years, we have tightened up things a lot and have taken a number of cases to court. In one instance, an individual was jailed for failing to comply with planning regulations," he said.
"1999 was really the start of our step-up on these developments and we now have a dedicated legal team working on outstanding cases. Our new computer system cataloguing these developments is on the way and money has already been cleared in this year's estimates for a planning enforcement officer, who we were hoping to have employed by now."
According to Mr McLaughlin, the planning act, which is already partially in place, will be of great assistance in tackling unauthorised development. Under it, the council will still have the option to prosecute an individual who has built an unauthorised development, even if that development subsequently received planning.
Present planning laws make it difficult for the council to prosecute someone whose development has been granted retention planning.
"The council are very conscious of the need to enforce the planning laws for those that don't bother to get planning and those who do but then disregard the terms of their planning," he said.