Architects slam 'farcical' Irrestawra Darek scheme launch and demand apology

Architects were caught off guard by the unexpectedly high demand for funds, leading to frustration within their professional body, the Kamra tal-Periti, who criticised the entire system as a "farce". 

The much-anticipated launch of the Irrestawra Darek scheme by the Planning Authority (PA) resulted in frustration and disappointment for architects and their clients on Tuesday. 

"The launch of the Irrestawra Darek scheme earlier today signalled the epitome of the Planning Authority’s disregard for the profession,” il-Kamra tal-Periti said on Tuesday evening.

The online application platform, which opened at noon, buckled under the immense surge of users vying to submit their applications, causing it to crash within seconds. 

After hours of futile attempts and countless error messages, the application form vanished from the website, leaving many to wonder if the PA had shut down the scheme altogether.

In Parliament, Planning Minister Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi defended the scheme, saying that within minutes of opening at noon, more than 350 applications were submitted.

The Kamra tal-Periti (KTP) strongly criticised the PA, describing the system failure as a blatant disregard for the architectural profession. 

The KTP highlighted that architects had already spent a week preparing their applications, and now they would have to deal with disappointed clients who might be unwilling to pay for their rendered services.

“The scheme wasted a full week of work of several architecture studios, with the risk that disappointed customers may blame their architects for their unsuccessful attempts at applying, rather than the preposterous application system adopted by the PA, and not pay them for their services,” il-KTP said.

The chamber explained how this is not the first instance of such a failure regarding the Irrestawra Darek scheme. “However, the mismanagement experienced today surpasses all previous occurrences.”

Demanding an apology from the PA, the KTP proposed that the scheme should reopen and operate on a lottery basis instead of a first-come, first-served approach. Additionally, they suggested running the program without a fixed end date, with applicants placed on a waiting list until funds become available again.