Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I cannot sit here and be told again and again that this is not for rural Ireland. I made it clear at the start of the meeting that this is why we are here to engage with the committee.

We see this plan playing a major part in saving rural Ireland. As I stated earlier, the statistics indicate that over 50% of house building over the past number years was in rural areas. That is a fact. We want to allow for this and to enable the rebuilding of villages. As I stressed earlier, not everyone wants to live in a one-off house. Some people want to live in a rural village but that choice was not available to them in the past. We want to ensure people have that choice and at the same time allow thousands of people to live in one-off houses. As I said, 50% of developments are outside cities. I ask the Deputy not to misrepresent the plan.