Planning officials are privately conceding that new legislation designed to protect listed buildings around the country has stretched their resources considerably. The prevailing view is that the law should have been introduced gradually.

Currently, local authorities are struggling to keep up with the demands imposed by the new Local Government (Planning & Development) Act which came into force on 1 January last.

Each planning authority was given four months to notify the owners and occupiers of all listed buildings. Dublin Corporation alone sent out 20,000 such notices by September this year. Identifying owners and occupiers has not always been easy, particularly in the case of property which has been let out.

Local authorities have also received many requests for "declarations" from owners and occupiers, which require detailed building-by-building scrutiny of both interiors and exteriors. A formal declaration indicating the type of work that can be carried out on a listed property without adversely affecting its character is required under the new legislation.

To date, Dublin Corporation alone has received more than 100 such requests, including one from Trinity College covering 100 buildings on the campus, all of which will have to be inspected.

Inspections will apply not only to the listed building, now known as a "protected structure", but to buildings such as a mews deemed to be "within the curtilage" - in other words, part of the protected structure - even if it is not itself listed.

One of the biggest changes in the new law relates to the interiors of buildings.

Until now, around 300 interiors were listed for protection in the Dublin Corporation area. Now around 9,000 interiors are protected.

In an effort to handle the growing workload, Dublin Corporation has created a panel of outside consultants to assist in the inspection work. People with an MARI architectural qualification and those with a master's degree in building conservation are considered suitable candidates, as are those with established conservation expertise.

The corporation received over 60 responses to its advertisement. The local authorities finally received copies of the draft guidelines on the practical implications of the legislation from Duchas The Heritage Service, at the end of March and the Corporation recently held a seminar on the Act with Duchas. Only now are the local authorities really in a position to press ahead with the implementation of the legislation. There is a concern that some owners and their architects may be overreacting at this stage. It might not have been necessary for Trinity College, for example, to seek a declaration on 100 different buildings, as major works will be carried out on only a few of these structures in the short to medium term.

Officials insist that they will be operating with a light hand, at least early on, although they also insist that the legislation will be enforced. Dublin Corporation is currently putting together a "buildings at risk" register, according to John Martin, Dublin Corporation's Deputy Planning Officer. This will cover protected buildings which have been left vacant, or are showing obvious signs of neglect. An enforcement planning officer will be recruited with the job of concentrating on the protection of endangered structures around the city.

The corporation, meanwhile, is also dealing with around 100 requests from owners for the deletion of their buildings from the list of protected structures, presumably so that they can press ahead with demolition, or with major alterations, freed of the obligation to consult closely with the authorities. A decision on a deletion of a structure from the list is a function reserved to the councillors, who must discuss and vote on such a proposal in public. Deletions are unusual, occurring generally where a building has been demolished or has been rendered unsafe.

It is likely that the corporation will be adding buildings to the list of protected structures. Recently, the Father Mathew Hall on Church Street joined the list and it is likely that there will be a greater emphasis on the protection of 19th and 20th century properties in future.

There is provision for fines of up to £1m under the new legislation for particularly serious breaches and enforcement looks set to be stepped up in the months ahead. Recently, the corporation moved in when demolition of a "protected" house in North King Street got underway. The front facade was propped up as an emergency measure.