Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

That change has made it less likely that we will get the real high-quality, family-type neighbourhoods mixed in. In that particular instance, it was a restriction on a local authority that I do not think was appropriate. It was a sledgehammer, applied across the country. Different local authorities are working with different circumstances. The key thing we have to do is bring down the price of land. That is the biggest problem and I would love to see us addressing it rather than lowering standards. That is why I fundamentally disagreed with the decisions on energy and on apartment sizes. I dislike the legislative provision because it can be used in whatever way people want and undermines initiative in local authorities. That initiative is something we do need, as well as regulation.