Ireland's planners should not be scapegoated for failures by the Government to implement its policies and plans, according to the president of the Irish Planning Institute (IPI).
Addressing the institute's annual conference in Cork, Iain Douglas said it was no longer sufficient to believe that once policies were formulated it was the sole responsibility of others to follow them through.
It was inconsistent that the Department of the Environment, as initiator of national policy, should "hand over total responsibility to local authorities for the implementation of those policies".
Mr Douglas said this lack of involvement in policy implementation at national level, including a failure to take corrective action when required, "is a fundamental difference between Ireland and other countries".
Ongoing public dissent about the agreed framework in development plans derived from a reluctance by many of those who had a fundamental input in formulating them to accept responsibility for their actions.
"All too often, the outcome is to blame the planners," the IPI president said. Local politicians also had a responsibility to "have regard to" Government directives and guidelines rather than simply ignoring them.
The public also had a role to play. "The typical attitude to ribbon development by Irish people - one house won't make any difference - is flawed given that 30,000 others are likely thinking the same thing."
Sustainable development meant collective responsibility for the future.
"How many individuals or groups of individuals are willing to restrain their own desires in planning terms in the interest of the nation?", he asked. "I think you know the answer."
Niall Cussen, senior planner in the Department of the Environment, said the National Spatial Strategy was now "well-reflected in the plans of different departments and agencies", and its implementation was being monitored continuously.
Mr Cussen forecast that by 2007, there would be a "revolution" in public transport in Ireland, particularly on the mainline rail network, and that most of the motorways linking Dublin with the regions would be completed by 2010.
