A leading European planner has said she is "astonished" by the sprawl of housing in Ireland.

Virna Bussadori, President of the European Council of Spatial Planners described Ireland's rural planning as "random" and said it represented a "spoiling of the territory".

Speaking at the presentation of European urban and regional planning awards in Dublin Castle, Ms Bussadori said planning played a key role in making cities more competitive.

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Not one of the award winners was Irish.

In a damning description of Ireland's planning policy, Ms Bussadori is reported to have said: "green land shouldn't be used for building houses everywhere. What people should understand is that land is not an infinite resource"

The Italian planning expert added that the Government should be doing more to protect these areas.

(DW)