Dublin City Council has urged the Department of Environment to take tougher action against developers who breach planning laws - particularly those involved in illegal demolitions.

A letter written by city councillors has called on the Environment Minister to put stricter controls on renegade developers.

Fine Gael councillor Edie Wynne said: "When a developer is in breach of planning legislation, then a planning application should not be entertained."

Ms Wynne brought the motion before council colleagues in response to the illegal demolition of the Presentation Convent in Terenure, and the developer’s alleged failure to repair the damage.

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City council officials were in the process of deeming the 19th Century building a protected structure when it was damaged.

Ms Wynne said: "The building, it appears, is not to be reinstated.

"The people of Terenure now believe the planning system is a sham."

"The demolition involved a flagrant breach of planning laws," she added.

Dublin councillors agreed it was unacceptable that some developers can breach regulations and still benefit from quickly progressed planning applications.

Labour councillor John Gallagher said: "It's extraordinary that a developer can illegally demolish a development and get away with it."

According to a fellow councillor, a situation where these developers get "planning permission fairly easily" was worrying.

(PR/JM)