Paul Keogh, the new president of the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland, says that a politically-driven planning system ran unabated during the Irish boom, emphasizing development at all costs.
Frank MacDonald interviewed Keogh, a friend of his. In the interview, Keogh stated that he "agrees that architects were under huge pressure during the boom and that much of what happened was 'unsustainable'. But he blames a lot of this on a planning system that was largely 'politically-driven and, at worst, corrupt', with councillors over-zoning land and local authorities allowing over-development in order to get revenue from levies.
'Development at any cost was too often the norm,' Keogh says. 'There was little strategic planning, developers speculated to maximise profits, and a light-touch regulation regime prevailed. The overall results of poor planning, bad design and minimal consumer protection are evident throughout the country, with many people in negative equity, some in floodplains.'
Keogh is working on an 11-point action plan to promote the idea of design-led planning and sustainability in architecture.
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