John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Okay Chairman, I do not want to do that but it was in the context of securing compact growth. If we want the city to expand within the boundaries of the M50, to which I subscribe, and not to stretch to Portlaoise, then these are some of the issues at which we need to look.

I agree with designated high-rise areas in Dublin. I was talking to a geographer in UCD and in the course of discussions I became aware for the first time that because we are a northern hemisphere city, the sun is quite low in the sky, so there are only certain places one can build high rise without blocking out the sunlight from the entire city. There is a need for public education on that. I wish to hear the view of Mr. McCarthy on the five or six designated high-rise areas in the context of compact growth, as nothing seems to have happened. Does Mr. McCarthy have a view on what needs to be done to encourage that?