Developers who knocked down a 1930s Dublin building should be prosecuted for vandalism and anti-social behaviour, the Dail was told.
Collen Brothers demolished the neo-classical Wiggins Teape building on the East Wall Road last week, three days after An Bord Pleanala said it should be preserved.
Mr Tony Gregory (Ind, Dublin Central) described the demolition as "an act of despicable vandalism".
Calling for the establishment of a State-funded survey of all buildings of merit in Dublin city, the Independent TD said permits or licences should be required before any building of a significant size could be demolished.
However, the Minister of State for the Environment, Mr Dan Wallace, did not accept the need for a licensing system. The legislation and supporting measures in place "provide a strong basis for the protection of our architectural heritage", he said.
Condemning the action of the developers in demolishing the Wiggins Teape building, Mr Gregory said "this type of irresponsible action, motivated solely by greed, should not be allowed to go unpunished". The Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, should "call in the Garda and prosecute the perpetrators for vandalism".
Their vandalism "has drawn attention to the potential threat from unscrupulous developers, hanging over many unlisted buildings in Dublin city," he said. "Steps must be taken to prevent this type of thing happening again." Outlining the need for permits to knock down buildings of a "significant size", he said "at present, no authorisation is required for buildings other than listed buildings, habitable houses and other exceptional circumstances".
"Surely a similar decision by An Bord Pleanala should imply a stay of execution on the demolition of buildings which the board considers to have special architectural merit," he added.
A survey of all buildings of merit in Dublin would complement the inventory of architectural heritage being compiled by the Department of Arts and Heritage "throughout the country, but significantly, not in Dublin", he said.
Mr Wallace, replying for the Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey, said the Minister could not exercise power over an individual planning application or appeal.
Enhanced provisions in the 1999 Planning Act for the protection of the State's architectural heritage "have placed considerable demands on local authorities", Mr Wallace said. In identifying buildings for addition to the record of protected buildings, "priority has generally been afforded to examination of pre-20th-century buildings".
However, Mr Wallace said "greater attention is now being given to identification of buildings of more recent vintage and I expect to see more 20th century buildings protected in local-authority development plans."