Sir, - Your Property supplement of February 1st expressed the view that "builders are getting heartily sick of pandering to these pen-pushing prima donnas" (i.e., planners). The article in question berated planners for "blocking a high quality scheme" because it wasn't of a sufficiently high housing density.
While it is not the general practice of the Irish Planning Institute (IPI) to seek to correct all opinions expressed about planners and planning, those that don't let the facts get in the way of a good story, such as the ill-informed tabloid-style rant referred to above, merit comment.
Any welly-wearing planner would have been happy to inform The Irish Times's Property supplement that the Department of the Environment's Residential Density Guidelines - which have been in existence for three years - advise that higher densities should be favoured, subject to appropriate safeguards, so we can increase the housing supply. Similarly, any scale-rule-swinging planner could have informed your Property supplement that the various county managers actually make all planning decisions and have always done so.
Far be it from planners to depend on politicians for a sense of self-worth, but a time when a Fianna Fail Minister for the Environment (Noel Dempsey, RTE Radio, January 4th), is praising planners for greater increases in productivity than any other part of the public service in recent years, we must be doing something right.
It is appropriate that the poisonous piece in question was located in the space normally reserved for "Piffle of the Week". It's a pity it wasn't headed as such. - Yours, etc.,
Paul Hogan, Irish Planning Institute, Merrion Square, Dublin 2.