Over 1,300 people who carried out building work without permission have been granted retention approval by Donegal County Council.
An investigation by the Irish Independent has revealed the scale of ‘build first, ask for permission later’ approach – with at least 11,000 people across the country doing so since 2019.
A total of 1,319 building works carried out in Donegal were granted retention approval by the local authority while 83 were refused.
There have been calls for properties built without approval to be demolished, in order to deter others.
But Philip Ryan from the Irish Independent says that rarely happens:
