Mr. David Browne:

The principle could be applied because it has a lot of merit. We need to be cognisant of SI No. 9 of 2014 because we brought it forward for specific reasons. They were to ensure better and more safely built buildings. We need to be careful to try to maintain as much of it as we can in the development of these buildings. Speaking to Mr. Joe Kennedy earlier, he mentioned the problem posed by radon. Dealing with the provision of a radon barrier in a new build is technically relatively simple. In an old building with a shop below and a residence above it might be much more difficult to deal with it. The rise of stairs in older buildings can tend to be somewhat dangerous and if we are trying to encourage them to come and live in towns and take advantage of their communities, we need to be careful that we are cognisant of the safety of older people.