The unprecedented number of planning motions submitted to Kerry County Council has forced planners to cancel two weeks of appointments with the public in order to cope with the workload.
The Mayor of Kerry, Mr Breandán Mac Gearailt (FF), said he feared that the power to move planning motions by resolution would be removed altogether because of overuse.
Section 140 of the Local Government Act 2001 is being used to force the county manager to grant planning permission against the advice of planners. A minimum of three councillors must sign a motion and a three-quarters majority of the council must vote in favour.
Many of the 80 or so motions submitted to this month's meeting of the council will never have gone through the planning process. Others will have been refused on one or perhaps two previous occasions.
Planners are so overburdened preparing reports and undertaking site visits that they have had to cancel the standard pre-planning meetings with applicants looking for planning permission in the Killarney and Killorglin areas. Up to 50 appointments have been rescheduled.
Section 140s have dogged council business over the past two years in Kerry and the number of motions has dramatically increased in the run-up to the local elections.
The volume of planning motions has resulted in the ordinary monthly business being rushed through or pushed aside until the following month.
The situation in Kerry is unlike that in other counties. In Cork, for instance, no Section 140 has come before the council recently.
Mr Mac Gearailt yesterday appealed to councillors to "come to their senses", saying: "There are people who seldom if ever put down a Section 140. On the other hand, I would like to see that facility available to us as councillors because it can at times be necessary."
Section 140 motions are frequently used for developments in scenic areas, at elevated sites and alongside major roadways, where they may create traffic hazards.
A small number of councillors are responsible for the majority of the motions, mainly in the Killorglin and Killarney electoral areas.
Among the 27 motions put forward last month the names which figured most were: Cllrs Michael Healy-Rae (Ind), Danny Healy-Rae (Ind), Michael Cahill (FF), Brian O'Leary (FF), Michael Connor-Scarteen (FG), P.J. Donovan (FG), Tom Fleming (FF) and Paul O'Donoghue (FF). While only a small number of councillors' names appear on the motions, the vast majority of the councillors readily support them.