Counties Carlow, Kerry and Waterford are among local authorities which do not have the services of a senior planner, according to a census of local authority staff published by the Irish Planning Institute yesterday.
The census also showed 600 professional planners were working in local authorities in the Republic in 2006.
But it indicated that just 150 of these were working in what was described as "forward planning" and just 30 planners were employed on enforcement issues.
The institute said enforcement was the most frustrating aspect of planning for the public.
It also said there was an urgent need for more professional planners to cope with economic development, population growth and environmental challenges.
In many cases the census found that the senior officers in planning departments were not planners but engineers or other professional grade staff.
The census also found that Dublin City Council was the only local authority to have a post staffed at the highest planning officer grade, that of planning officer. The council had one planning officer. The census also found the only Government department to employ planners was Environment. The institute called for planners to be employed in Transport, Tourism, Enterprise, and Education.
