Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

As a former resident of the good borough, I am not sure about that. I support Deputy Ryan. We debated this issue at length in respect of the Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Bill and during Private Members' business. I was worried when I heard the Minister talk about setting minimum standards which he could not go below, which I firmly accept, and which he could not go above. It is the first time I have heard anybody say it that explicitly. The issue around apartment sizes or dual aspect apartments is that when one puts a family in a high rise apartment without back or front gardens, dual aspect is vital to the quality of the family's life. It brings something to apartment living that otherwise is not there. I have lived in two high rise buildings, both of which were dual aspect and both of which were local authority builds in two other jurisdictions. The battle, and this is where I believe the Minister is wrong, is that clearly there is a cost implication in the provision of certain units but there is also a quality of life outcome for the people who live in them. If the issue is that providing better quality of life outcomes for people is more costly, we must find ways of reducing the costs elsewhere. We should never say to the local authority that there is a standard it is not allowed to go above.